Future Waste Collection Services in Renton

At the Renton City Council meeting on Monday, March 2, council approved the staff recommendation to move forward with the selection of Recology as Renton’s new solid waste provider, starting in April 2027.

The City of Renton has contracted with Republic Services to provide waste collection services for nine years, with the contract set to expire in early 2027. During this nine-year contract, residents experienced service disruptions during three strikes – most recently during the summer of 2025. Republic Services provided a limited amount of support for residents during those service disruptions – and it became a visible topic of frustration and concern for residents and businesses.

Staff conducted a lengthy contract and service review in advance of the current contract expiration date, including a resident survey in spring 2025. Last September, the city received five proposals to provide waste services starting at the end of Republic Services’ current contract. Staff reviewed the proposals through the lens of meeting business and resident needs, resident feedback, total cost, value for services received, reliability, sustainability, and several other metrics.

What we heard from residents is that it is important to have a locally-based customer service center and a regional presence. Residents ranked service reliability as the most important factor in selecting a service provider for the next contract, over cost, sustainability, and even customer service.

Recology is the current service provider for 13 other cities in King County, including Bothell, Burien, Carnation, Des Moines, Issaquah, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, North Bend, Redmond, SeaTac, Seattle, Shoreline, and Tukwila. Recology operates a local call center in Seattle, with customer service available every day of the week, including Sundays. Recology will also provide staffing to meet new state requirements for businesses and residents to separate food and yard waste from their garbage.

When the new service starts in April 2027, city staff will start handling billing, so residents and commercial customers can pay all their bills in one convenient spot instead of juggling payments between the city and their waste services provider.

Recology will also provide 21 brand-new trucks powered by renewable natural gas (with options to add electric vehicles by 2031), keeping in line with Renton’s business plan objectives of fostering environmental sustainability and preservation.

We’ve heard concern about rising rates, and we know the details of a contract negotiation can be confusing. While the total contractor payment is expected to increase by 16% -- that’s not what customers will see on their bills. Here’s what customers can expect for common service levels starting in April 2027.

Our base rates with Republic Services were set ten years ago, and, with any new contract, we’d be seeing increases for inflation, fuel, and other costs. With Recology, we expect an increase of about $4.46 per month for single-family customers with a 35-gallon garbage cart (which is a 13% increase over what rates would be Republic Services). Commercial customers with a 4-yard garbage dumpster collected once a week are expected to have an 8% rate increase over rates with Republic Services, or about $37.26 more a month.

Over the next year, the city will offer insights into the new and improved services that Renton’s customers will receive. The city will also keep customers updated regarding key steps in the transition, such as when bills for waste services will start coming from the city and when new garbage and compostables carts will be delivered. For questions, please email sustainability@rentonwa.gov.