EVERETT — Finally making time to drop that broken chair or old mattress at the dump? Check the waste-cam first.
Snohomish County Public Works Solid Waste Division is rolling out webcams that allow residents to check the line at any of the department’s seven solid waste facilities.
Cameras are live at five locations — including the Everett, Arlington and Mountlake Terrace recycling and transfer stations as well as the Sultan and Granite Falls drop boxes.
The first cameras were installed at the larger transfer stations in February.
Cameras are set to be installed at the Snohomish drop box by fall and at the hazardous waste station in Everett by the end of the year.
The waste division’s webpage also has detailed information on peak visitor times. The data show early mornings before 9 a.m. are least crowded. Traffic builds up the most on weekends.
The Recycling & Transfer Station on Airport Road in Everett receives about 48 percent of the refuse and yard debris dropped off at county stations, according to solid waste officials. The Mountlake Terrace station receives about 30 percent, and the Arlington station 22 percent.
By early 2020, a new paperless billing system will also help usher clients in and out of the facilities more quickly.
Dumpers will no longer need to settle a charge with a staff member on-site.
Customers will be able to pay their waste credit amount electronically by visiting the department’s web portal. They will also be able to pay through check by mail.
The process will be similar to paying property tax, said Skip Knutsen, Snohomish County solid waste operations supervisor.
The waste department is branding the effort “more time for other things” — like binging that new Netflix show, or literally anything else.
Julia-Grace Sanders: 425-339-3439; jgsanders@heraldnet.com.
Check the lines for county solid waste facilities at www.snohomishcountywa.gov/5431/Check-the-Lines.
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