Disposal restrictions at King County solid waste facilities
King County requires all customers to show proof they live or do business within King County's 37-city and unincorporated service area, which excludes the cities of Seattle and Milton. Learn more Download PDF 1.75 MB.
King County's solid waste facilities are designed to accept a wide range of materials; however, there are legal, operational and safety reasons why some materials are restricted.
The list below summarizes disposal restrictions. For more information, please visit the following resources: What do I do with…?, Take it Back Network, Waste acceptance and clearance, Household hazardous waste collection, Business hazardous waste, or call Customer Service at 206-477-4466.
Not accepted in garbage (additional restrictions are listed on this page)
- Ammunition
- Batteries – vehicle and marine batteries
- Burning or smoldering material
- Computers, monitors, laptops, TVs, cell phones (printers, fax machines, and scanners okay)
- Construction and demolition waste delivered in hydraulic lift truck or trailer
- Explosives
- Hazardous/dangerous or universal wastes (ignitable, corrosive, reactive or toxic) from large or small quantity generators (see household hazardous waste below)
- Medicines
- Motor vehicles and major vehicle parts (those with VIN numbers) (RVs are listed below)
- Paint – no liquid latex or oil-based paint (dried out or solidified latex paint is okay)
- Tanks – all tanks of compressed gases, except 1) empty propane tanks 2 gallons or less in size and 2) empty helium tanks 5 gallons or less in size
- Treated wood from commercial customers
Items that require prior written approval for disposal
- Asbestos-containing waste
- Bulky/dense items greater than 2 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds (includes large stumps, large pieces of concrete, safes, and wood stoves, which can damage equipment)
- Cable, wire, rope (in lengths long enough and strong enough to tangle equipment)
- Contaminated soil
- Dead animals (over 15 pounds)
- Drums – Empty metal or plastic drums in quantities greater than one or from commercial customers
- Drums – Empty drums that previously contained acutely hazardous waste (must be certified cleaned)
- Dusty (that cannot be controlled by bagging at transfer station)
- Food more than ½ pallet
- Industrial waste/industrial sludge
- Liquids more than 5 gallons
- Mattresses in excess of six pieces per customer per day
- Tanks – Empty home heating oil tanks or other underground storage tanks
- Over-length, rigid items more than eight feet long
- Overly odorous wastes
- RVs: boats, motorhomes, campers, travel trailers
- Sanitary sewer grit or vactor waste
- Sharps from clinics, dentists, etc. and other biomedical waste
Not accepted in garbage, but accepted for recycling/handling at some facilities. Fees apply for some items.
- Large appliances – includes refrigerators, hot water heaters, stoves, etc. (accepted at Bow Lake, Enumclaw, Factoria, Shoreline and Vashon for recycling)
- Batteries – rechargeable and button batteries (accepted at Factoria household hazardous waste [HHW] drop-off service)
- Batteries – vehicle and marine batteries (accepted at Factoria HHW drop-off service)
- Corrugated cardboard at facilities where cardboard recycling is provided
- Household hazardous waste – includes motor oil and other automotive fluids, flammables (pressurized cans or tanks, paint/solvents/preservatives), batteries (other than alkaline), corrosives, pesticides, mercury-containing products, light ballasts, and propane tanks (accepted at Factoria HHW drop-off service)
- Mercury-containing light bulbs and tubes, including fluorescent lights (accepted at Bow Lake, Enumclaw, Factoria, Shoreline, and Vashon for recycling with a limit of 10 bulbs and tubes per vehicle per day)
- Metal (scrap – ferrous and nonferrous metal items with 50% or more metal) at facilities where scrap metal recycling is provided
- Paint – oil-based (accepted at Factoria HHW drop-off service)
- Sharps (containerized sharps kiosks at Bow Lake, Factoria, Shoreline and Vashon – residential only)
- Wood (clean – unpainted, unstained, untreated lumber, particle board, plywood, pallets, crates) at facilities where clean wood recycling is provided
- Yard waste at facilities where yard waste recycling is provided
Accepted for disposal with restrictions
- Residential self-haul customers:
- Dirt (uncontaminated) – up to one pickup truck full. Must control dust.
- Drums – limit one open, empty metal or plastic drum per load
- Tires – four passenger car tires per load
- Residential self-haul customers and commercial customers
- Construction and demolition debris delivered by vehicle without hydraulic lift
- Cooking oil that has been solidified
- Fireworks (spent fireworks may be soaked in water overnight, sealed in plastic bag and disposed wet)
- Hot tubs – accepted at the Bow Lake, Enumclaw, Factoria, Shoreline and Vashon stations only
- Latex paint that has been solidified (Businesses must designate latex paint. Contact King County Public Health (206-296-4633) with questions.)
- Mattresses or box springs – combined total of six per customer/company per day
- Oil filters that have been drained for 24 hours or have been crushed and drained (metal may be recycled)
- Polystyrene packaging (if littering/nuisance cannot be controlled by bagging, may require written approval)
- Tanks – Empty helium tanks up to 5 gallons (do not recycle)
- Tanks – Empty propane tanks up to 2 gallons (do not recycle)
