Single Family Waste Collection Service
Waste collection services are provided by Waste Management (WM). Weekly recycling and compost services are included at no additional cost with garbage service.
Single family residents refers to those who live in a standalone house or accessory dwelling unit of a house (such as a "mother-in-law" unit).
Solid Waste Guidelines
Learn what is accepted in each cart:
Additional Curbside Recycling Services
Additional next-to-your-cart recycling and disposal services are available, including:
Schedule these services with Waste Management at 425-587-0040 / 1-800-592-9995 or pnwrsservices@wm.com.
Drop-off recycling locations and special recycling events are also available for additional items, such as confidential paper shredding, paint, and plastic bags.
Beyond the Cart Recycling Directory
Rates and Billing
Waste collection rates are based on the garbage cart size. All sizes of garbage carts include weekly collection of a 64-gallon recycle cart and 96-gallon food plus yard waste cart. Residents are billed through the City of Kirkland on a bi-monthly basis.
Switch to a smaller garbage cart to reduce the cost of waste collection service. To change garbage cart size, contact WM at 425-587-0040 / 1-800-592-9995 or pnwrsservices@wm.com.
A new waste collection contract with WM began July 1, 2022, bringing updated services and rates. Low-income senior discounts are available.
Single family utility rates
How to pay utility bill
Service Information
Cart Placement for Collection
All carts should be placed for collection by 7:00 a.m. on collection day(PDF, 2MB).
Please remove carts from the right-of-way once they are emptied. Thank you for keeping our sidewalks and bike lanes clear for people walking, biking, and rolling.
Where to place the cart
How to Put Out Extra Material
Extra recycling is free. Extra garbage and yard waste that won't fit inside the cart with the lid closed are subject to a charge. Extra material is charged by unit, based on volume, more information on charges below.
Garbage
- CHARGE
- Place extra garbage in 32-gallon personal containers (with handles) or plastic bags, labeled "garbage." (35 pound limit)
- If the lid of your cart is not fully closed, you may be charged for an extra
Recycling
- FREE
- Place extra household recyclables next to your cart in a paper bag, cardboard box, or reusable container labeled "Recycling". (Limit 35 pounds.)
- Extra cardboard boxes can be broken down and placed next to your cart. It should be no larger than 3' on any side. Please do not leave cardboard out in the rain overnight — soggy cardboard is not able to be recycled, because the rain ruins the paper fibers.
Yard Waste
- CHARGE
- Place extra yard waste in 32-gallon personal containers (35 pound limit) or Kraft bags labeled "Yard," or bundle into 4'x2' bundles with twine (no plastic).
- If you often put out more than three yard waste extras a month, consider ordering an extra 96-gallon yard waste cart. You can order an extra cart for a portion of the year. See monthly rates for an extra yard waste cart.
We have a special program during November — residents may put out up to 5 bags of yard waste extras each week for free!
Holidays
Collection service is provided on all holidays except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. If your regular service day falls on or after one of these holidays, then your collection day will be pushed forward by one day for that week.
For example, if your regular service day falls on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday), then your collection day will be on Friday. Friday customers would receive service on Saturday.
Inclement Weather Service Delays
Winter storms in Western Washington create unsafe, icy, and sometime impassable road conditions that significantly impact WM’s ability to safely provide collection service.
Winter Weather Delays
If Waste Management determines that weather conditions make collection unsafe, they may postpone collection until the following week, when customers can put out twice their regular amount of material. They may also choose to start service later the same day to allow road conditions to improve, but may not have time to collect all materials, in which case missed customers can put out twice their regular amount of material the following week. No credits or refunds will be issued for collection delays due to weather.
Get daily service updates about weather delays at WM's Weatherboard or call WM at 1-800-592-9995.
How to Sign Up for Service Alerts by Phone
If you would like to receive phone alerts about winter weather service delays (may not receive till the afternoon on the day service is cancelled), you can sign up to receive them. If you have received calls from WM in the past, you do not need to do anything. Sign up through the Our Kirkland service portal.
- On the first step, you do not need to provide a location.
- For the issue, go to Garbage/Water/Sewer Billing, then select "I Want to Receive Waste Management Alerts"
- Provide your phone number, service address, and whether you are owner or tenant.
You will be signed up within a week or so, when we next sync our records with Waste Management.
Frequently Asked Service Questions
I got a tag on my cart. What does that mean?
When drivers notice contamination - items that do not belong - in your recycling or food yard waste carts, they will put a tag on your cart informing you of the item in question. In the future, please make sure that you sort your items into the correct cart. Contamination causes problems in processing your recycling and compost.
When non-recyclable items are mixed in with the recycling, if they can be pulled out they will be thrown away; however, some contaminants are not able to be sorted and reduce the quality of the recyclable material, making it less valuable and useful. Plastic bags can also force the Recycling Center to halt operations when they get wound around the machinery and need to be cut out by hand.
When non-compostable items - especially plastic and glass - are mixed in with your yard waste and food scraps, they degrade the quality of the finished compost. No one wants plastic or sharp glass in the compost that they buy to put in their vegetable gardens.
A garbage truck woke me up this morning at 5:45 a.m. What are the residential operating hours for Waste Management?
In residential neighborhoods, operating hours are Monday – Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Please report pickups outside of Waste Management's operating hours by calling the Kirkland Recycling Hotline at 425-587-3812.
The operating hours in commercial areas is 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the exception that collection in commercial areas adjacent to residential areas is restricted to the residential operating hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
My neighbors leave their carts out on the sidewalk all week. Does Kirkland have any rules about this?
Yes! Residents must remove their carts no later than 24 hours after service is provided, and may put their carts out no earlier than 24 hours before their service day, per Kirkland Municipal Code (KMC 16.08.070).
The code also encourages residents to place their carts on planter strips (where available) and requires that carts be placed out in such a manner that does not block traffic or impede people using sidewalks and bike lanes. Here are a few examples of do's and don'ts to help you be more "cart smart."
Submit a cart placement complaint through OurKirkland
I live out-of-state during the winter. Can I stop my service?
Vacation holds are available for a minimum length of two months. Contact Utility Billing to start a vacation hold.