City of Bellevue Single-Family Recycling Collection Services
The City of Bellevue contracts with Allied Waste for the curbside collection of single-family residential recycling. Service rates are determined by the garbage can size chosen. The more you recycle, the less garbage you produce.
Start, Stop, Change Service
- Recycling service is included for garbage customers.
- If you are not a garbage customer, Recycling Service only is available for a monthly fee. To sign up, complete the online form or call 425-452-4762.
- To stop or change service, call Allied Waste at 425-452-4762.
Find Your Collection Day
- Recycling is collected once a week. (See Map)
Prepare Your Recycling
- Use the standard 96-gallon Blue Recycling Cart or for a smaller cart from Allied Waste free of charge, call 425-452-4762.
- Review the list of What Goes in the Recycling Cart? .
- Place your Blue Recycling Cart out by 7 AM on your scheduled collection day. Put carts within 5' of the curb with lid opening toward the street.
- Place excess recyclables in a paper bag or box clearly marked "Recycling" near the Blue Recycling Cart. There is no charge for extra recyclables!
- Remove carts from the curb within 24 hours after collection.
! Contamination, such as one ceramic cup mixed in with recyclable glass, can ruin the whole batch and damage processing equipment. Make sure only recyclable items are put into the Blue Recycling Cart. This will result in less items being disposed of as garbage and more items being manufactured into new products. When the wrong items are put in the recycling cart, a written notice will be placed on our container explaining the contamination. Please review recycling guidelines or call 425-452-4762 for assistance.
! Expanded Recycling Program includes Small Electronics, Small Appliances, Clothing and Linens, which can now be recycled at the curb. Place these materials at the curb near the Blue Recycling Cart.
Additional Recycling
- Special Collection Events
- The City of Bellevue holds two Special Collection Events each year, one in the spring and one in the fall, where many hard to recycle items are accepted.
- Large and Bulky Items
- Allied Waste collects large bulky items, such as mattresses, appliances and furniture by special arrangement for a fee. Call 425-452-4762 for details.
- Some local businesses accept large appliances, electronics, scrap metal, motor oil, Styrofoam peanuts and other materials not accepted in the curbside program. Call Bellevue Utilities at 425-452-6932 or email us for more information.
- Haul Recyclables to the Transfer Station (the Dump)
- Recyclable items can be hauled for recycling to a local transfer station operated by King County Solid Waste Division:
- Call 206-296-6542 for operating hours and directions
- Where to Recycle Unusual Items
- Have an unusual item and wonder if it can be recycled? Visit one of these websites:
Why Recycle?
- Recycling makes economic sense! It's less expensive to recycle materials than to bury them in a landfill or burn them in an incinerator. If everything went into the garbage, garbage rates would be much higher.
- Recyclables are taken to Allied Waste's Recycling Processing Facility in Seattle. Recyclables are sorted, baled and sent to recycling mills, where they are made into new products.
- Recyclables can be made into new products:
- Plastic bottles become new fleece clothing and carpeting.
- Plastic bags become new decking and building products.
- Cardboard becomes new cardboard.
- Tin cans become new rebar for construction projects.
- Newspaper becomes fruit packing trays and new paper.
- Glass becomes new glass bottles and jars.
- Aluminum cans become new aluminum cans.
- Recycling conserves natural resources and saves energy! Every ton of recycled paper saves trees, electricity and water, resulting in less air and water pollution than manufacturing a ton of paper from virgin wood pulp.
Preventing Waste is Even Better Than Recycling!
Before you buy, use or discard an item, ask yourself:
- Can I buy this with less packaging?
- Can I buy this made with recycled content?
- Can I use this again?
- Can I recycle this after I use it?
You can reduce waste by Reusing, Recycling and Buying Recycled.
