Seattle, WA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Who's covered
- All commercial establishments, including self-haulers
- Required separation
- Paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, metal, food waste, yard waste
- Violation fee
- $50 additional charge per collection
- Food waste businesses
- Must subscribe to composting, self-haul, or process on-site
- Exemption path
- Storage-space exemption from SPU Director under 21.36.082.C
Summary
Every commercial establishment in Seattle, including self-haulers, must separate paper, cardboard, glass and plastic bottles/jars, aluminum and tin cans, food waste, compostable paper, and yard waste for recycling under SMC 21.36.082. None of those materials may go into a garbage container, drop box, or the City's transfer stations: violators face a $50 fee per collection.
A.Required recycling of paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, aluminum, tin, food waste, compostable paper, and yard waste1.All commercial establishments, including those hauling their own waste, shall separate paper (including paper cups), cardboard, glass and plastic bottles and jars, aluminum and tin cans, food waste, compostable paper, and yard waste for recycling, and no paper, cardboard, glass or plastic bottles and jars, plastic cups, aluminum or tin cans, food waste, compostable paper, or yard waste shall be deposited in garbage containers or drop boxes or disposed as garbage at the City's transfer stations.2.Any violation of this subsection 21.36.082.A shall result in an additional collection fee of $50 per collection.B.All commercial establishments that generate food waste or compostable paper shall subscribe to a composting service, process their food waste onsite, or self-haul their food waste for processing.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
A requires 'all commercial establishments, including those hauling their own waste,' to separate a specific list of recyclables, paper (including paper cups), cardboard, glass and plastic bottles and jars, aluminum and tin cans, food waste, compostable paper, and yard waste, and bars every one of those materials from garbage containers, drop boxes, or disposal as garbage at the City's transfer stations. ' Subsection B extends the mandate to food waste and compostable paper specifically, requiring businesses that generate either to subscribe to a composting service, process the material on-site, or self-haul it for processing, and it puts the obligation on building owners too, who must provide composting service for tenants or space for tenants' own food-waste containers.
040 and may approve shared recycling containers among contiguous businesses; and businesses aren't on the hook for recyclables the public dumps into containers meant for general public use. 02.
Violations & Fines
Failing to separate any of the required materials triggers a flat $50 additional collection fee per pickup under SMC 21.36.082.A.2: the fee applies per collection event, so repeated noncompliant pickups compound quickly for a business on a regular schedule. Businesses can avoid the penalty by seeking a storage-space exemption from SPU's Director under subsection C rather than simply ignoring the requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Seattle businesses have to recycle by law?
What's the penalty for a business that doesn't separate recyclables?
Can a small business skip recycling if it has no storage room?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Seattle
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Recycling Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle recycling rules.