Data Table

• Solid Waste Management

Explanation

Thurston County Solid Waste is responsible for receiving, processing, and safely disposing of the county's solid waste.

The total amount of garbage disposed of in Thurston County has increased each year since 2012. In 2022, Thurston County produced over 227,000 tons of solid waste, or roughly 1,500 pounds of trash per county resident. The amount of trash per resident has also held steady in 2022 after increasing every year since 2012.

When disposed, this garbage is transferred to the Waste and Recovery Center, a state-of-the-art transfer station that opened in May 2000. The transfer station accommodates up to 600 tons of waste per day. Garbage from the Waste and Recovery Center is loaded onto trucks, hauled to Centralia, and then placed on rail cars to be transported by train to the Roosevelt Regional Landfill in Klickitat County. The Waste and Recovery Center replaces a landfill which operated on the site between 1972 and 2000.

Since 2007, recycling totals have fluctuated between about 44,500 and 56,300 tons per year. In 2021, roughly 374 pounds were recycled per county resident.

Sources

• Thurston County Solid Waste
• City of Olympia
• Waste Connections / LeMay Pacific Disposal