Whatcom County Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Plan

The Whatcom County Council unanimously adopted an update to its Comprehensive Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Plan (the Plan) during a meeting held on January 24, 2017. The adoption is the culmination of a two-year effort led by Whatcom County’s (the County) Health Department to revise the Plan, which defines the existing components of the solid waste management system throughout the county, identifies and evaluates opportunities for system improvements, and presents an implementation schedule for selected improvements over the 20-year planning horizon. Washington State counties are statutorily required to update their solid waste management plans every five years.

The Plan is intended to ensure that innovative approaches to waste management are considered, and implemented as applicable, to maintain system capacity—similar to water, sewer, and transportation capital facilities planning documents that are prepared in accordance with the Washington State Growth Management Act to ensure that infrastructure capacity is planned for and constructed in advance of growth. A recognized pioneer of solid waste management, the County considered the latest industry trends in waste reduction, waste recycling, and energy recovery.

The County carefully considered input from its Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) and staff, and from private-sector service providers, community groups, the Washington State Department of Ecology, and the public. MFA supported the County throughout the update process, including conducting extensive interviews with all system service providers and community groups, facilitating development of system goals and actions through multiple meetings of a SWAC subcommittee, and drafting the Plan.