Flow Control Enforcement
Flow control refers to a governmental entity’s ability to determine, by ordinance, where solid waste collected within its boundaries will be taken for disposal. Flow control is important to Snohomish County as it ensures the safe disposal of solid waste generated within the county. It also ensures that all who benefit from the solid waste system, provided to all residents and businesses, pay their share in support of the system. Therefore, any waste diverted outside of the County’s system is costly to the remaining system participants because fewer tons of waste are processed and the residents and businesses that comply with the law have to pay a higher cost per ton for waste disposal.
Flow control has been debated in the courts since the 1970’s; however, it wasn’t until 2007 that the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the legality of flow control with its ruling in the United Haulers Association v. Oneida-Herkimer case. In very simple terms, this decision deemed it appropriate that publicly owned solid waste facilities have the authority to direct waste to their facilities. In 2011, the Snohomish County Code Chapters 7.35 and 7.41 were revised to provide greater clarity on how waste and recyclables are handled within the county, including recyclable and non-recyclable construction and demolition debris. The purpose of the changes are:
- To provide transparency about which materials are being recycled and which materials are being disposed at a landfill
- To promote recycling
- To ensure that landfill-disposed materials are properly handled and are disposed in the Snohomish County solid waste system.
This map shows the areas within the County that are subject to enforcement of flow control. Areas highlighted in purple stripe are not subject to flow control by Snohomish County.
Violators will be subject to a $250 fine for each violation (fine doubled per repeat violation). In addition, violators will be subject to commercial vehicle use fines outlined in the table below (fine doubled per repeat violation).
Vehicle Weight |
Fine |
|
<5 Tons |
$500 per violation |
|
> 5 Tons and < 10 Tons |
$1000 per violation |
|
> 10 Tons |
$1500 per violation |
For more information on fines and penalties, please refer to Snohomish County Code, Title 7. Applicable sections include SCC 7.35.160 Misdemeanor and SCC 7.35.165 Civil Penalty.
2011 Revisions to Snohomish County Code
Snohomish County Code was revised in early 2011 to provide greater clarity on how waste and recyclables are handled within the county, including recyclable and non-recyclable construction and demolition debris. View more details.
To locate businesses that will accept recyclable construction/demolition materials (containing less than 10% garbage) please visit this Web page.
For suggestions on job-site recycling, please view our handout, Selecting a Recycling Method (pdf).
To report violators, please phone 425-388-6669 or send us an e-mail.
- Please state the nature of your complaint. For example, you may have seen someone hauling waste outside of Snohomish County for disposal, the use of an intermodal container on a construction or demolition job site, a job site without a container for solid waste, or you may have a complaint about not receiving a solid waste or recycling container from your service provider in a reasonable time frame.
- Please indicate your name, description of the violation, and the nearest street intersection of the violation.
All complaints are documented; however, at this time the Solid Waste Division will not return calls or respond to e-mails unless additional information is necessary.