Whidbey residents of unincorporated Island County and the city of Langley could potentially take their recyclables out to the curb starting sometime next year.
Island Disposal is looking into wheeling out curbside recycling service for residential customers in these areas, but the decision ultimately lies with Island County commissioners. Officials presented the proposal to the board during a workshop meeting this week. A public hearing, possibly in January or February, will be held on the topic.
According to the proposal, nearly 70% of Whidbey residents currently don’t have access to curbside recycling. A recent survey conducted by Island Disposal determined that about 94% of 2,156 customers that responded indicated some level of interest in a collection program.
Under the new program, customers would receive a 96-gallon recycling bin that would be serviced every other week. Their bills would increase by about $6.50 per month.
Some survey respondents indicated that they plan to continue taking their recycling to the satellite collection facilities in Oak Harbor, Coupeville and Bayview for free, while others said they would prefer the convenience of curbside recycling.
Customers would not be able to opt out of curbside recycling services. Island Disposal Site Manager Andrew Riggs explained that a voluntary program would be more expensive by about 30% or 40%. Bundled curbside garbage and recycling programs are found in 93% of jurisdictions in western Washington.
Commissioner Jill Johnson expressed concern about mandating some residents to pay for a program they don’t want.
“I want to make sure that we’re being sensitive to the fact that we’re asking some people to pay for other people’s values,” she said.
Indeed, some Langley citizens spoke out against curbside recycling when Riggs presented the proposal to the Langley City Council last year. But any island-wide ordinance regarding waste and recycling also applies to the city, because Langley is part of the tariff area Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission administers on Whidbey, Riggs confirmed in an email. Though the city could take action to remove itself from the tariff area, it would require contracting with a third party to provide garbage and recycling services or choosing to self-haul at the municipal level.
“Island Disposal has had many conversations with a variety of outstanding recycling coalitions on the south end of Whidbey (rePurpose Whidbey, Whidbey Climate Action, etc.) regarding a variety of ways to ensure the residents of Langley, South Whidbey, and the island as a whole can reduce waste and divert as much material as possible from the landfill,” Riggs wrote in an email.
Island Disposal’s list of acceptable recyclable materials includes Plastics #1 (water, soda, salad dressing bottles), Plastics #2 (milk jugs, detergent and shampoo bottles) and Plastics #5 (prescription bottles, yogurt and margarine containers). Glass is not currently accepted, though the satellite collection facilities will take it.
The material picked up by Island Disposal is taken to Pioneer Recycling in Tacoma, where about 18% ends up getting disposed of as garbage due to contamination or not being recyclable.
If approved by the county commissioners, curbside recycling could be rolled out by the third or fourth quarter of 2026. Right now, only residential customers living on base in Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, in the city of Oak Harbor and in the town of Coupeville have access to the service.
