Background

We want to make sure Washington state's solid waste laws achieve the Beyond Waste goal of reducing most wastes and toxics in Washington in the next 30 years.

How did we get here?

Washington's main environmental law related to solid waste, Chapter 70.95 RCW was passed in 1969.

At that time, the majority of waste was disposed in open burning dumps. The focus of the 1969 law was closure of those dumps and construction of new "sanitary landfills" to control air pollution.
Our waste stream, once mostly organic, now contains products and packaging made of a variety of materials, including some recyclables and some toxic substances.
Since 1969, the Legislature amended Chapter 70.95 RCW 28 times in response to the changing waste stream. Other legislative efforts resulted in stand-alone pieces of legislation to encourage and increase recycling efforts, and address specific products.

Other solid waste laws

There are more than 80 other laws addressing a variety of solid waste issues in Washington state, listed at the links below. All laws related to solid waste issues.

Laws specific to materials management.

Laws specific to product policy.

Laws specific to solid waste management.