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This collection service in Bellingham is redefining what is recyclable — it’s gained a fanbase

Ridwell collects items from clamshell containers to chip bags

By Julia Tellman Local News Reporter

Once you notice one Ridwell bin sitting on a porch in town, you start seeing the square white bins with red branding everywhere. First introduced in Bellingham in 2021, the private recycling collection service now has 3,000 accounts between Blaine and Big Lake, and has diverted more than 700,000 pounds of material from the waste stream in Whatcom and Skagit counties. 

While January is always a big growth month for Ridwell, as people reckon with the excesses of the holidays and perhaps set resolutions to be more conscientious in the new year, this January has been especially busy. The company started collecting clear plastic clamshells in Bellingham, adding to the service already available in Mount Vernon and Anacortes.

Local waste hauler Sanitary Service Company announced in November 2024 it would no longer accept any plastic to-go containers, including clamshells, for recycling. SSC said the change came about for several reasons: different styles of container are made up of different plastics; processors only allow a certain percentage of these types of plastics in their bales; and due to their flat shape, to-go containers often end up being identified as paper on automated processing lines

In January, Ridwell started collecting clear plastic packaging and clamshells, shown in the blue bag, from Bellingham customers after local waste hauler SSC stopped accepting the material. (Julia Tellman/Cascadia Daily News)

Ridwell’s customers are not afraid to ask for more from the company — members in Bellingham immediately started pressuring the company to collect those plastic containers. 

“No one wants to lose something they’re used to recycling,” said Sierria Underdown, the Bellingham operations manager.

Ridwell rolled out its clamshell collection the week of Jan. 20. Two plastic recycling and processing companies, Recology and K&S Recycling, accept Ridwell’s material to resell or make into new plastic resin.

Founded in Seattle in 2018, Ridwell’s goal is to “bridge the gaps in curbside municipal programs,” explained Taylor Loewen, the West Coast regional director. The Bellingham operation is based in the Birchwood neighborhood and has four vans, with drivers making 80–130 stops per day Monday through Thursday. All customers can recycle plastic film, textiles, batteries and light bulbs, while those who pay more per month can recycle additional items like Styrofoam, plastic clamshells and crinkly multi-layer plastic (like chip bags and granola bar wrappers). 

The every-other-week service costs between $14 and $24 per month depending on what materials are collected.

The kind of person who signs up for an additional recycling service on top of standard curbside pick-up is often the kind of person who meticulously cleans, dries and sorts the material they put out for collection — Underdown said some members even hang their plastic film and bags on a clothesline to dry. That level of rigor leads to low contamination rates, between 0.1% and 11% depending on the material. State and national reports estimate contamination in residential single-stream recycling can be anywhere from 10% to 25%. 


With a rapidly growing member base in the Bellingham area, Ridwell is looking for a larger warehouse. Driver Brandon Hurst, who has worked for the company for a little over a year, said he delivers between five and 10 new bins to households every day. 

Ridwell is outgrowing its 2,000-square-foot warehouse in the Birchwood neighborhood of Bellingham. (Julia Tellman/Cascadia Daily News)

Warehouse organization and material turnover are essential, especially in the case of batteries, which pose a fire risk — Ridwell employees pack batteries into metal drums with flame retardant pellets and generally get them out of the facility within 24 hours. 

Most of the recycled material collected in Whatcom and Skagit is sent to Seattle for distribution to Ridwell’s recycling partners, which are listed on its website, but with the one-off “featured” categories, such as pet supplies, Halloween candy or Christmas decorations, Ridwell tries to find local recipients whenever possible. 

Ridwell is sustained by membership fees, not by selling recyclable materials as commodities. Loewen acknowledged an add-on recycling service is a luxury, but said the company does offer occasional free community pick-up events for Styrofoam and hosts plastic film drives at schools.

The company also has no problem with members crowdsourcing among their neighbors and friends to fill up their bins with miscellanea such as bottle corks or electronics. 

Pill bottles are one of the categories that Ridwell collects from all customers on a rotating basis. Other categories include corks and electronics. (Julia Tellman/Cascadia Daily News)

“We have a very enthusiastic, highly engaged member base,” Loewen said. “So much of our new business comes from referrals and word of mouth, from neighbors talking to neighbors.” 

To learn more about the service, visit ridwell.com.

Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.

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