FAQs

Recology is a 100% employee-owned company serving more than 2.5 million residential customers across the West Coast.

Recology operates a local call center in Seattle, with customer service available every day of the week, including Sundays.

They are 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.

Learn more about Recology on their website: https://www.recology.com/

The City of Renton reached the end of a 10-year contract with Republic Services. In advance of the contract ending, we wanted to hear from residents on what services they wanted to see as part of the next contract.

We conducted a 17‑question community survey in April 2025, receiving 244 responses from single-family residents. 

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 will begin providing garbage, recycling, and food & yard waste collection in Renton on April 2027. Until then, Republic Services will continue to serve as Renton's solid waste provider. 

No. All existing accounts will automatically transfer to Recology. You’ll receive information by mail with your service details, including billing and cart delivery.

In alignment with Recology start date and new state regulations, all garbage and compost carts will switch to new colors. This change will happen in phases starting April 1, 2027, and finishing by August 29, 2027.

You don’t need to do anything except put your carts out on your regular pickup day. Recology will handle the rest.

Cart Color Changes:

• Garbage (Gray or Black): Items that cannot be reused, recycled, or composted. 
• Food & Yard Waste (Green or Brown): Fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, bones, yard trimmings, and approved compostable items.
  

Remains the Same:

• Recycling (blue): Clean paper, cardboard, cans, bottles, and other accepted recyclables.

Some routes may change. You’ll receive a mailer in advance of any changes.

As part of the new contract, billing for solid waste services will be managed by city staff beginning in April 2027. Residents and commercial customers will be able to pay all their bills in one convenient spot instead of juggling payments between the city and their waste service provider.

Messaging about the new billing process will be communicated as we get closer to the change. For more information on utility billing in general, visit our website at https://www.rentonwa.gov/City-Services/Utilities/Utility-Billing