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Working Together to Reduce Hazardous Waste

King County’s hazardous waste problem

Many commonly-used products contain chemicals that pose risks to the environment and/or human health. In the household, these chemicals are found in products used for cleaning, eliminating pests, caring for yards, and maintaining cars and boats. Products with toxic ingredients are also used in hobbies like jewelry-making, painting, photography, and furniture refinishing. Hazardous household products usually have one of the following words on the label: "Poison", "Danger", "Caution", or "Warning".

Businesses and other organizations also use products with hazardous ingredients. For example, auto repair shops, dry cleaners, dentists, jewelers, and property managers may use materials that contain hazardous chemicals and may generate hazardous wastes—wastes that are corrosive, flammable, reactive and/or toxic.

With 1.8 million people living in King County and more than 54,000 businesses and other institutions operating here, the potential for generating large amounts of hazardous waste is significant. When improperly used, stored or disposed of, hazardous chemicals pose a threat to human health and the environment. In fact, exposure to certain products—whether in the home or business—can present a risk to health and environmental quality even when the products are used and disposed of properly.

A regional response

Prompted by citizen demand, Washington state directed local governments to create plans to manage hazardous wastes produced by households and, in small quantity, by businesses and other organizations. In 1991, local governments and agencies in King County established a partnership to manage these wastes regionally. This partnership is known as the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County.

The program brings together resources from four government agencies and 37 suburban cities to help citizens, businesses, non-profit organizations and government agencies reduce the threat posed by the production, use, storage and disposal of hazardous materials. The partners are: King County Water and Land Resources Division, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle Public Utilities, Public Health - Seattle & King County, and the Suburban Cities Association.

Mission and vision

Mission

The program mission is to protect and enhance public health and environmental quality in King County by reducing the threat posed by the production, use, storage and disposal of hazardous materials.

Vision

The program vision is that the Puget Sound region is the cleanest in the country − one free of hazardous chemical exposure.

Goals

Program goals are as follows:

Goal One. Work upstream* to reduce the production of hazardous materials and products.
The program works “upstream” to do the following:

• Reduce hazardous waste generation
• Reduce health and environmental risks associated with exposure to hazardous materials
  • Promote cradle-to-cradle management of hazardous materials and products
  • Promote greater shared responsibility (government, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, consumers) for managing a product’s full life-cycle
  • Reduce reliance on government-only interventions in managing end-of-life hazardous products and wastes increase producer involvement in reducing the risks associated with their products and in the management of their products when they reach end-of-life
  • Promote product reformulation that reduces their hazardous/toxic contents
  • Make product reuse and recycling easier
  • Promote safer non-toxic alternatives.

Goal Two. Reduce availability and use of hazardous materials and products.
Recognizing that the program’s efforts to increase producer responsibility will be a long-term endeavor, parallel efforts will be needed to reduce or eliminate select products and materials from the marketplace more expeditiously.

Goal Three. Reduce public and environmental exposure to most problematic hazardous chemicals.
Recognizing that the program’s efforts to reduce the overall availability of hazardous materials will be a long-term endeavor, parallel efforts will be needed to reduce or eliminate the risks associated with existing products and materials. Likewise, many discontinued or banned products remain available for use in King County. When used, these legacy products and materials, although no longer sold in the county, pose significant health and environmental risks.

Goal Four. Reduce exposure of vulnerable and traditionally underserved populations to hazardous chemicals.
The program focuses some of its resources on vulnerable populations who are especially at-risk when exposed to hazardous chemicals (for example, young children) and on populations or communities that have been traditionally underserved. By partnering with community-based organizations, public health staff and other non-governmental organizations, the program works to reduce the risk of exposure for the vulnerable populations described below and to improve their access to program services.

Goal Five. Facilitate proper hazardous waste management.
The program works to ensure that business and household hazardous materials and products are managed in such a manner that reduces the risk of human and environmental exposure and that places greater emphasis on reuse and recycling.

Goal Six. Develop and maintain strategic relationships and partnerships.

Goal Seven. Be accountable to the public.
The program is working to promote these goals as set forth below.

1. The program is focusing on reducing the availability and use of the following priority materials:
   • Priority pesticides, including
     • carbaryl
     • Trifluralin
     • Weed and feed products (Key ingredients: Dicamba, MCPP)
     • Pyrethroid
2. Bisphenol-A, particularly in infant and baby products
3. Lead
4. Mercury
5. PBDEs (flame retardants)
6. Pharmaceuticals
7. Solvents.
8. The program is continuing to assist cities, small quantity generator businesses and others by providing a wide array of services, including:
   • Providing on-site technical assistance visits upon request
   • Maintaining incentives programs (for example, EnviroStars and Vouchers)
   • Coordinating the Interagency Compliance Team
   • Sustaining the Interagency Resource for Achieving Cooperation, or IRAC
   • Focusing on protecting particularly vulnerable areas that include
     • Groundwater/wellhead protection zones
     • flood hazard zones
     • commercial generators on septic systems
   • Continuing to operate the Industrial Materials Exchange,(or IMEX)
   • Facilitating convenient and affordable SQG waste disposal
   • Facilitating development of an Industrial Ecology model
   • Working with other agencies to create a state/regional chemical policy.
9. The program is focusing on reducing the exposure of vulnerable and/or traditionally underserved populations, including:
   • Young children (prenatal to age six)
   • Students (K-12)
   • Low-income residents of government-owned housing
   • At-risk workers
   • Nail salon workers
   • Janitorial services staff
   • Landscapers.
10. The program is continuing to strive to provide household hazardous waste collection services that meet the customers’ needs and to make effective use of the “precautionary principle” in regional policy development and implementation.

See Frequently Asked Questions for additional information about Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County services and fees.