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MEMORANDUM
To: Solid Waste Advisory Committee
From: Al Cairns, Solid Waste Program Manager
Date: 4/16/26
Re: Waste Diversion Strategy
Background
Solid waste programs in Washington State meet operating costs with revenue generated through tipping
fees. At the same time, unfunded mandates toward waste diversion work in opposition of the financial
well-being of solid waste programs. The current Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) does not
provide a decision-making framework in which to manage this tension, and this will be addressed in the
update of the SWMP.
Not surprisingly, the waste diversion hierarchy in the SWMP which begins with “reduction” followed by
“reuse” and ending with “recycling” is also a ranking of levels of cost for such landfill diversion activities
since “downstream” interventions are more costly in the same way that emergency room care is more
expensive than early prevention. On April 1, 2026, Public Works discontinued its subsidy of the recycling
program and wishes to focus on “upstream” waste reduction strategies as prioritized in the SWMP and
to better meet the SWMP goal of utilizing the private sector for program delivery.
Model Program
King County’s Re+ program is a good model to emulate in affecting this realignment. The Re+ program
was launched in 2023 and provides seed money in the form of “Circular Economy Grants” for private
sector for-profit and non-profit business startups or projects that divert materials from landfill and
create a circular economy. Examples of circular economies happening in Jefferson County now include
the new lumber mill at the airport turning sawdust into compressed logs and the Blue Heron Middle
School’s food waste diversion program that connects the student operated program and the Port
Townsend Eco-Village with composting feedstock. Here is a list of recent King County projects that were
funded through the Re+ program.
The King County program is funded through NextCycle, an initiative of the Department of Ecology, and
the Recycling Market Development Center which is a partnership between the Department of Ecology
and the Department of Commerce created in 2019 under Chapter 70A.240 RCW with program
development supported by Seattle Public Utilities and King County. In the 2025 grant cycle 14 projects
were awarded a total of $2.17MM.
Proposal
Public Works would like to work with the Solid Waste Advisory Committee in developing a program like
King County’s Re+ program and tailored for Jefferson County for launch in 2027. Key elements of this
recommendation for initial discussion are:
• Initial funding in 2027 from the tipping fee not to exceed $25K/yr. or $1 per ton of projected
municipal solid waste tons
• Solicitation of funding requests through a Request for Proposals in early 2027
• Formation of a SWAC subcommittee that would work with staff to develop proposal scoring
criteria, vet proposals, and deliver a recommendation for award to the full SWAC at the April
2027 meeting
• Staff would fill an advisory and support role with SWAC taking the lead on the program after the
first year