Kennewick residents are swapping their open-top recycling bins for covered, 96-gallon rolling carts this fall, part of a new 10-year contract with WM that will also raise garbage bills by roughly $9 a month.
Crews began delivering the Easyroll-style carts ahead of a service change that takes effect in November, when recycling pickup shifts from weekly to every other week, according to KEYW. The larger, lidded carts replace the small, open-top bins that have long been a fixture on Kennewick curbs.
The cart swap is one piece of a broader overhaul the Kennewick City Council has been working through since summer. The city's previous waste-hauling contract with WM, formerly known as Waste Management, was set to expire Dec. 31, 2025, prompting negotiations on a new 10-year deal. The council held a workshop on the proposed contract July 22 and returned to the topic Oct. 7 before signing off on the new terms, according to NBC Right Now.
What's changing on your bill
Under the rate schedule discussed at the July workshop, a 35-gallon garbage cart would cost $21.68 a month through 2026, then jump to $27.75 in 2027. Residents switching to the new 96-gallon recycling cart can expect an estimated $9 increase to their monthly bill once the new contract takes hold, NBC Right Now reported in a follow-up story.
City solid waste program engineer Martin Nelson told the station that rising costs across the state's waste-hauling industry, not any single local factor, are driving the increase. "There will be a jump in price for sure. But we still have one of the lowest rates in the state of Washington," Nelson said.
The city says it negotiated to preserve some of the perks that have made its rates competitive. Kennewick will keep offering residents six free dumps a year at the transfer station, a benefit Nelson said most Washington cities don't provide. "We're still keeping our six free dumps at the transfer station. That's not common for most cities in the state of Washington," he said.
The city is also keeping its fall leaf collection program, despite earlier discussion about discontinuing it. Residents can still set leaves at the curb the first weekend of the month for three months each fall, and that service remains included in the base rate, Nelson said. "We have a fall leaf collection that you just take it out to the curb first weekend of every month for three months. And that's still included in the rate."
What residents should know
The shift to every-other-week recycling pickup means households will need to plan around the new schedule starting in November, likely adjusting how much cardboard, paper and containers they accumulate between collections. It's not yet clear from city or WM materials whether residents need to set out their old recycling bins for pickup or dispose of them on their own; residents with questions about the transition should watch for guidance from the city's solid waste division as the November rollout approaches.
The new rates and cart sizes apply specifically to WM customers in Kennewick. The change comes as Tri-Cities homeowners face a string of utility and seasonal cost shifts this fall, from PUD insulation rebates to KID's irrigation shutoff and evolving yard-waste rules across the region. Residents with billing questions can contact the city's solid waste program directly as the new contract rates phase in over the next several months.
