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Construction and demolition materials
Information on recycling and disposal options for construction and demolition (C&D) materials.
Disposal options
Small residential C&D loads
King County facilities only accept small loads of C&D from residential customers. The following conditions apply:
- We will accept small amounts of C&D mixed in larger non-C&D loads.
- No vehicles with mechanized dump beds or dump trailers. You may bring materials in a regular trailer.
- Vehicles with trailers cannot exceed length restrictions, which vary by facility. See our facility pages for more details.
- Materials may not exceed 8 feet in length.
- Bulky items, such as concrete blocks, cannot be larger than 2 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet and must weigh less than 200 pounds.
- We only accept mixed C&D loads for disposal. You must separate out clean wood, cardboard, and scrap metal for recycling at the Bow Lake, Enumclaw, and Shoreline transfer stations. All materials must meet dimension and weight restrictions.
Commercial and large C&D loads
Large residential and commercial loads of C&D are not accepted at our King County facilities. These materials need to go to a designated C&D facility as written in King County Ordinance 18166.
Find a designated C&D facilityDirect shipments to the landfill
King County code no longer allows C&D materials to be sent via bulk shipping containers directly from jobsites to the landfill.
Recycling and diversion
C&D recycling requirements
County code requires that C&D materials that are readily recyclable. This includes the following C&D materials which are banned from the landfill:
- Clean wood (clean, untreated, unpainted)
- Cardboard
- Metal
- Gypsum scrap (new)
- Asphalt paving
- Bricks
- Concrete
Find more detailed information about King County’s C&D recycling requirements:
C&D recycling options
C&D recycling options vary depending on whether materials were sorted separately onsite (e.g., wood, metal, wallboard, etc.) or are mixed.
Separated C&D materials (source separation)
Visit the What do I do with…? site to find recyclers for common C&D materials. You can also recycle separated clean wood, cardboard, and scrap metal at the Bow Lake, Enumclaw, and Shoreline transfer stations.
Benefits of source separation:
- More cost-effective than commingled recycling or disposal
- Results in a high recycling rate, over 90% of materials on average
- Helps sustain markets for manufacturing recycled-content building materials
Disadvantages of source separation:
- Requires recycling containers for each material type at the jobsite
Mixed C&D materials (commingled)
Recyclable materials that are mixed together or mixed with waste must go to a designated C&D facility.
Benefits of commingled recycling:
- Requires fewer jobsite containers, saving on space
Disadvantages of commingled recycling:
- Significantly lower recycling rate than source separation
- Facilities dispose of some recyclable materials such as drywall, carpet, and ceiling tiles as garbage
The only way to quantify the amount of recycling for a particular project is by using the facility’s recycling rate.