Vashon’s recycling record remains strong, county says
Published 1:30 am Thursday, April 16, 2026
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article on recycling, answering such burning questions as, where does it all end up? And, is there really some guy who sits there all day sorting through the tons of stuff that we collectively dump at the Vashon Transfer Station? (Answers: Most recycling is still sold in North American markets; and yes, there are guys who oversee the sorting process, though much of this is automated.)
For this year’s Earth Day, I reached out to Joe Basile at King County Waste Management and asked for an update on all things recyclable.
Good news: Vashon has maintained an excellent record, and we’ve either stayed consistent or improved in the recycling of the various materials involved, except textiles.
In 2025, we recycled 447 tons of cardboard and mixed paper, 143 tons of glass, 330 tons of metal, 65 tons of mixed containers, 68 tons of CFC appliances, a couple of tons of mercury lights and a whopping 29 tons of discarded mattresses. Finally, add to all that 1,159 tons of yard waste.
What about plastics? This is more complicated, noted Mr. Basile.
“Clear plastic containers such as water bottles and milk jugs can be recycled either curbside or in the commingled bin at the transfer station,” he said. “Clear plastic film, such as produce, grocery and bread bags or clear shrink wraps, can be recycled at [major chain supermarket] store drop-offs or at the two free drop-offs at Bow Lake and Shoreline recycling and transfer stations. They must be empty, clean and dry. These items are collected separately,” he explained, “because they get tangled in equipment at sorting facilities when mixed with other recycling.”
Since my wife and I have been carefully removing the address labels from those plastic envelopes that innumerable Amazon deliveries come in, I inquired specifically about these.
The answer was disappointing. While the clear, “air pillow”-type packing material you often find in your Amazon cardboard box can be popped and recycled with the clear plastic, those envelopes cannot — at all. Paper delivery envelopes, and of course cardboard boxes, are fine.
Basile noted an encouraging development regarding passage of the Recycling Reform Act, which passed the Washington State Legislature last year.
The law requires producers of paper and plastic product packaging to fund collecting, sorting and processing recyclables, and includes incentives for companies to reduce packaging and make packaging more recyclable.
“Producer fees will also support oversight,” said Basile, “so we’ll know where materials are going and what they’re turned into.”
Among other benefits, the act — which will be rolled out in phases — is expected to significantly increase recycling rates to 66% from the current 40%, create 1,650 green jobs and reduce climate change emissions by 565,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.
A final practical reminder: It’s actually not necessary to aggressively wash out recyclables, as long as you’ve scraped them mostly clean and given them a quick rinse.So renew your commitment to recycling for this Earth Day, and keep up the island’s record.
A complete guide to recycling can be found at: tinyurl.com/2zk3vr8m.
Phil Clapham is a retired whale biologist and writer who lives on Maury Island.
