About the City of Burien's Comprehensive Garbage, Recyclables, and Compostables Collection Contract with Recology
New rates for Recology solid waste collection service in Burien went into effect June 1, 2025. More information about these rates can be found on their website. They have also sent notices by mail to all customers.
Despite several factors driving increased costs that are completely outside its control, the City of Burien remains committed to ensuring community members receive the lowest rates and highest value for solid waste collection services.
Following a public, competitive procurement process that started in 2022, the Burien City Council adopted a new 10-year Comprehensive Garbage, Recyclables, and Compostables Collection Contract with Recology in early 2024.
In addition to offering the lowest rates, Recology also received the highest score on their proposal following a robust staff evaluation process which included document review, facility tours, and conducting interviews.
The cost increase that customers are currently seeing on their bills is significant due to a number of outside factors, including the previous 10-year contract having been below-market rate due to favorable market conditions at the time, compliance with new state legislation, uncertainty over long-term costs and inflation, instability in the recycling market, a decrease in the value of recyclable materials, and supply-chain issues. These issues are impacting a number of other cities as well and are not unique to Burien.
Even with selecting the lowest rates, the City was able to secure added value for Burien customers in the 2025-2035 contract.
Popular elements maintained from the previous contract include:
- Embedded residential recycling and compostables collection
- Embedded multifamily and commercial recycling collection
- A low-income household utility tax exemption
- Christmas tree collection
- Drop-off collection events
- Services for Burien facilities and sponsored events
- Annual service mailers
- Outreach and education
- Zero Waste guidance and technical assistance to multifamily, business, and commercial properties
- The Recology Store
New items added to the current contract include:
- Aligning cart colors with local industry standards (green compost and gray garbage)
- New trucks at the start of the contract
- Annual no-cost, on-call collection of appliances and bulky items
- Electric support vehicles for route managers and education staff
- Increased service requirements during winter weather and labor interruptions
- Additional performance fees for unsatisfactory hauler performance
- 90 hours per week of litter collection
The City’s Utility Tax Relief Program offers rebates on certain utility taxes, including solid waste removal provided by Recology. Applications are now being accepted online until December 5, 2025 for rebates to be issued by the end of January 2026. Eligibility requirements, program guidelines, and an application form are available in both English and Spanish on the City's website: burienwa.gov/UtilityTaxRelief.
Solid Waste Resources
The City is working on adding additional resources to this page to help solid waste customers navigate ways to potentially reduce costs and access additional services.
Updated July 17, 2025