Cedar Hills Regional Landfill

Ever wonder what goes on at the Cedar Hills Regional landfill? Check out this time-lapse video Youtube , the Cedar Hills fact sheetDownload PDF 80 K, or learn how water sampling Youtube helps us meet our regulatory requirements and helps us protect human health and the environment.

Water sampling is an integral part of our work at the Solid Waste Division. In addition to ensuring we meet our regulatory requirements, water sampling also helps us protect human health and the environment.

The Solid Waste Division (SWD) operates the only remaining landfill in King County – the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. The Cedar Hills Regional Landfill is not open to the general public for disposal of garbage. Garbage is accepted from residents and commercial customers at King County's eight urban transfer stations and two rural drop boxes. Waste brought to the transfer stations is consolidated and taken to the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill for disposal. Some materials not accepted at the transfer stations may be accepted at the landfill, but only with an approved waste clearance decision.

The 920-acre Cedar Hills Regional Landfill is located in Maple Valley, about 20 miles southeast of Seattle. Owned by King County and operated by SWD, the landfill receives over 800,000 tons of solid waste a year. Learn how you or your group or organization can arrange for a tour of the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill.

Planning for the future

The currently adopted 2019 Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan proposes strategies for managing King County's solid waste over the next six years, with consideration of the next 20 years. The Plan was approved by the King County Council, 24 of King County's 37 partnering cities, and the Washington State Department of Ecology. The Plan benefitted from extensive public input including nearly two years of collaboration between the Solid Waste Division and its two advisory committees.

The Cedar Hills Regional Landfill has provided cost-effective, environmentally responsible waste disposal for more than 50 years. To meet disposal needs, the Plan recommends further development of Cedar Hills to maximize disposal capacity. The Solid Waste Division is pursuing three primary strategies to maximize the amount of space available at the landfill for disposal of waste:

• Waste diversion
• Operational efficiencies
• New area development – for more information on new area development, please visit Cedar Hills Regional Landfill 2020 Site Development Plan and Facilities Relocation.

Community Meetings

As the operator of the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill, the King County Solid Waste Division is committed to ongoing communication with residents living in neighborhoods surrounding the landfill.  Division staff host two community meetings a year (April and October) to provide landfill neighbors and other interested persons information about operational, construction, and environmental monitoring activities at the landfill. Additionally, updates on the landfill gas-to-energy facility owned and operated by Bio Energy Washington are provided by the facility manager. For more information about these community meetings, please visit Cedar Hills Regional Landfill Community Meetings.