Spokane County takes over regional solid waste system

SPOKANE COUNTY — At the stroke of midnight, Nov. 17, Spokane County took over management of the regional solid waste system and ownership of the Valley and North County Transfer Stations.

According to Spokane County Utilities Director Kevin Cooke, it is a virtually seamless transition for residents since their curbside pickup will not change and they can continue to use the transfer stations. 

“All Spokane County residents will be welcome to use the Valley and North County Transfer Stations,” Cooke said in a news release. “As before, the transfer stations will accept household trash, organics and green waste, recyclables, used oil, tires, residential construction debris and household hazardous waste.

Clean Green fees remain the same at $47 per ton, with a $5 minimum charge, Cooke added. The county is adding single-stream recycling to the services offered through their system, meaning customers won’t have to sort recyclable materials but can put them all into one container, similar to the city of Spokane’s current system.

The city of Spokane continues to own and operate the Waste to Energy Facility on the West Plains. While not all county jurisdictions are participating in the new regional system, all county residents are able to use the two transfer stations.

Jurisdictions participating in the regional system are the cities of Airway Heights, Deer Park, Medical Lake, Millwood and Spokane; Fairchild Air Force Base, unincorporated areas of the county and the towns of Fairfield, Latah, Spangle, Rockford and Waverly.

The residents, businesses and schools in the cities of Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and Cheney will not be eligible for certain programs offered through the Spokane County Regional System, such as: public education and outreach, master composters and recycling events. For information regarding those programs in your area, please contact the appropriate jurisdiction.

For more information about the Spokane County Regional Solid Waste System, call (509) 477-6800 or visit http://www.spokanecountysolidwaste.org.