Bellingham clears path to shared compost bins for some city residents as new policy looms
Some Bellingham residents could see relief from the recent changes in the city’s waste-disposal service that were enacted late last year.
Those rules require every resident within city limits to have a new bin for food waste and other organic materials, in the same way that they must have garbage and recycling. Recycling is changing to single-bin collection, so all residents have or will be getting three bins for curbside pickup from Sanitary Service Co., the city’s waste hauler. There will be one bin for trash, one for yard and food waste, and one bin for recyclable material.
“We’re hearing from community members who are now getting the extra totes and extra bills,” Councilwoman Lisa Anderson said during a committee hearing Monday, Feb. 10. The new curbside composting service costs $13.69 a month.
Some residents want to be able to share bins with other households, and some residents say they don’t need the food waste because they already compost, Anderson said.
City Council members unanimously approved changes to the code that will allow residents of accessory dwelling units and duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes to use a common bin as apartment dwellers do. The measure was approved on first and second reading and will take effect 15 days after approval on third reading, which could come as early as Feb. 24.
Price reductions of 15% are available for low-income seniors and disabled people, according to the revised ordinance.
The new changes could provide a cost savings and also reduce the number of bins that residents have to set curbside or in their alleys.
Public Works Department spokeswoman Torhil Ramsay told The Herald that residents can seek permission from SSC to get combined bins.
“ADUs are eligible to apply for combined waste services as are duplex, triplex and fourplex units. If the application is approved, the city informs SSC and the customer can work with SSC to determine the appropriate size of waste receptacle for their situation. One bill is sent to the account holder for a combined service,” Ramsay said in an email.
But the City Council decided not to allow exemptions to the Food Plus! curbside composting program, which the city enacted in December ahead of state law that takes effect in 2027.
Assistant Public Works Director Mike Olinger advised against offering exemptions to home composters until after the law takes effect statewide.
“There’s nothing that precludes us from providing exemptions at this time. However, the conversations that we’ve had at the state level imply that the exemption process that they’re going to put forward at the state level will come with a lot of hooks attached to it,” Olinger told the council.
Olinger said that the state likely will want to:
▪ Verify that residents who seek an exemption are actually composting.
▪ Examine their composting process.
▪ Evaluate how they are using their finished product.
Such verification would be costly and “extremely staff intensive” at the local level, Olinger said.
“It could put us down a pathway that’s going to cause even more turmoil with our rate payers and our customers,” he said.
Mayor Kim Lund said that in order to provide compost exceptions, the city will have to hire staff to inspect and keep track of the compost exemptions.
“An exemption process for some would lead to higher rates for all,” Lund told the council.
Ramsay said that Bellingham will reconsider that stance if the state Department of Ecology sets guidelines for cities that want to offer exemptions.
Even so, the city’s Food Plus! program accepts food waste that can’t go into a home composting system, such as meat ad dairy products, Ramsay told The Herald.
“Even if you compost at home, there are compostable items that you can put in your FoodPlus! bin that you might not want in your home compost pile. FoodPlus! will commercially compost items like meat and fish scraps (including bones), dairy products, bread and other baked goods, rice and pasta, citrus peels, and approved compostable packaging,” she said.
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 12:04 PM.
