Kennewick to replace open bins with 96-gallon recycling carts

By Grace Kim

Kennewick, Washington, will switch residential recycling collection to 96-gallon blue carts during the week of Nov. 16, after WM delivers the containers from Nov. 1 through Nov. 14. The containers will replace the city's open-top recycling bins.

Each cart will hold about five times as much as the older bins, according to the city. That figure describes container capacity, not recovered tonnage, and the announcement sets no fivefold material-throughput target. The change still alters the interface among households, crews and the automated pickup system the city wants to support.

The city said the cart change would "cut down on litter blown by the wind" and "support automated pickup." It also expects the format to reduce lifting for sanitation workers and lower injury risk. These claims connect the physical design to collection practice: the city links the cart format to litter control, pickup automation and the physical demands on crews.

What does the switch change for Kennewick households?

Residents will receive a larger blue cart for recycling and use it under a revised collection schedule instead of presenting open-top bins. WM will deliver the carts at no cost from Nov. 1 through Nov. 14. The first collection week begins Nov. 16, placing the no-cost delivery before the operational change and making Nov. 16 the first service checkpoint.

The collection rules divide the material stream between accepted recyclables and added exclusions. Each designation applies at the point of collection.

• Inside the cart: Recyclable materials, including cardboard.
• Excluded from recycling: Batteries and construction and demolition debris, both added to the excluded-materials list.

Cardboard and other recyclable material have a designated destination inside the container. Batteries and construction and demolition debris mark categories the program will not take as recycling, narrowing the accepted stream as the container format changes.

The city expects the agreement changes to avoid both a rate increase and a service reduction compared with the original contract. It used "not expected," so the announcement provides an expectation rather than a numerical rate cap or a detailed service calendar. The city also says the carts support automated pickup, not that every part of collection becomes automated.

Contract authority and material rules

Kennewick's city council approved the city's current solid waste agreement with WM on Oct. 20. The agreement covers Jan. 1, 2026 through Dec. 31, 2035, a 10-year term. The approval defines the contractual authority for the city's solid-waste relationship with WM across a fixed decade.

The vote and the cart deployment address separate parts of the transition. The Nov. 1-14 distribution and Nov. 16 schedule start deliver the physical system to residents. The 2026-2035 agreement sets the commercial terms, with changes not expected to raise rates or reduce service from the original contract.

The accepted-material rules changed alongside the container format. Cardboard was singled out as a recyclable that belongs inside the cart. Batteries and construction and demolition debris joined the exclusions, giving sanitation crews clearer boundaries while the city says the system supports automated pickup.

The fivefold capacity comparison does not establish how much additional material Kennewick will collect or how many truckloads the new system will handle. The announcement gives no tonnage forecast, collection-frequency detail, route schedule or numerical target for litter, lifting or injury reduction. Those claims can therefore be tracked operationally after the Nov. 16 start, alongside the expectation of no rate increase or service reduction.

For households and crews alike, the practical test is whether the larger container can produce those operating gains under the revised material rules, without the rate increase or service reduction the city does not expect. The schedule beginning the week of Nov. 16 is the first operational milestone.

The decisive contractual milestone is Jan. 1, 2026, when the approved agreement takes effect. It sets WM's terms with Kennewick through Dec. 31, 2035, giving both sides a fixed period to operate under the revised collection system and material rules.