In 1990, the city of Renton, WA, began its future in recycling collection by holding a collection event for metal, tires and oil. Today, the city holds recycling events three times a year for King County residents, with each event focused on specific materials. As a suburb of Seattle, Renton has plenty of various recycling options available for residents in the area. The city鈥檚 goal for recycling includes education on nearby recycling sources that can be used anytime throughout the year and recycling events for other items that residents would be more likely to dump.
Throughout the history of the collection events, there have been 27 material types collected, including concrete, textiles, tires and used motor oil. Only eight of these materials are now accepted at current recycling events. These are automotive tires, bubble wrap, cardboard, mattresses and box springs, paper or shredding, styrofoam, scrap metal and donated food. These items were chosen based on how often the city sees them illegally dumped and what other options there are locally for recycling the items. No longer accepted items include appliances with refrigerants, batteries, bicycles, bulky yard waste, used motor oil, clean wood, concrete, hazardous waste, household goods and textiles, plastic bags, plastic containers, plastic plant pots, phones and porcelain. For the items that are no longer accepted, the city is focusing on educating residents on the multiple other locations throughout the city that accept the items throughout the year so they can take the items any time they wish and not wait for collection events.
In May, Renton collected styrofoam and metals. This is also the first year they collected arts and crafts supplies. 鈥淲e鈥檙e always looking for something different,鈥� Meara Heubach, solid waste program manager, stated, 鈥渁nd we came across the idea for arts and craft supplies. We鈥檙e always willing to try something out and see how it works out.鈥�