WRRA proudly advocates on behalf of the regulated solid waste, recycling, and organics industry in Washington State. That advocacy includes regular engagement with policymakers in Olympia and local jurisdictions, ensuring that public policies have a greater opportunity to support economically and environmentally sustainable solid waste practices.

Since 1961, Washington State has enforced a regulated recycling and solid waste system that prioritizes universal service, transparent operations, and environmental stewardship. The foundation of these services – provided by private companies competing for contracts with public utility agencies, overseen by state regulators – is called the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, also known as a “G Certificate.”

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC), authorized by the state legislature, issues G Certificates to private companies following a rigorous review process. The State Legislature has adopted significant legislation in recent years that will dramatically change how our state diverts organic materials from the landfill and collects recyclable materials.

Following the adoption of SB 5284 in 2025, our state began implementing an Extended Producer Responsibility program for packaging materials. With years of critical milestones ahead for successful implementation, WRRA and its member companies are working diligently to inform this crucial effort, which affects solid waste and recycling in our state. Composting is a common practice in the Pacific Northwest.

Whether it’s a green bin in the kitchen for food scraps, a bigger bin in the backyard for the garden, or expanding investments in solid waste management to divert organic material from our landfills, we all do our part. There is a significant opportunity ahead to divert even more organic waste from landfills, as implementation work progresses for three organic management laws adopted over the past four years (2022, 2024, 2025).

Washington State’s curbside system is a proven success. Unfortunately, some would undermine this success by creating a new tax on bottles to fund problematic bottle deposit centers. There are only 10 bottle deposit programs in the United States. With the exception of Hawaii (in 2002), no state has adopted this archaic policy since 1986, and the average age of programs founded before the adoption of curbside service is 47 years.

Recent surveys of programs in other states have found that almost $1 billion in unrefunded bottle taxes is retained by their program managers, often with little transparency regarding how the funds are spent, and that 35% of bottles are never recycled under these programs. After decades of data, we don’t need to start a new program in Washington that taxes common grocery items.

Today, policies related to solid waste, recycling, and organics are constantly evolving. Alongside that change, WRRA has sought to advocate for policies before the Legislature that would support the interests of consumers and make recycling more efficient, including the adoption of a landmark bill to establish post-consumer content minimums in certain packaging.

Solid waste companies in our state are regulated by multiple state agencies, from the Department of Ecology to the Utilities and Transportation Commission. There are many active rulemakings before these agencies.