July 24, 2025
To the Executive Editor, Seattle Times:
The upcoming election for County Executive is important for the reasons the Times has noted: the budget, homelessness, Trump’s impacts on state and local programs. In addition, however, it is important for one reason you have not mentioned: municipal solid waste. We are now at a critical junction: do we expand the Cedar Hills landfill yet again, or even export to another landfill somewhere else, and continue to threaten public health, the environment, and the economy; or do we follow the path of sound science to a proven alternative.
In the past you used to endorse King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert specifically due to her dedication to Solid Waste Management Issues. “Perry will have to work hard to build expertise on issues, like waste management and rural roads, that rarely come up on the campaign trail. Voters should give her the chance. Once elected, Perry should eschew party politics, remembering that the county council is rightly nonpartisan.” https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/the-times-recommends-incumbent-kathy-lambert-disappoints-sarah-perry-for-metropolitan-king-county-council-district-3/
Neither Councilmember Perry nor any other Councilmember has made any attempt to address the pressing issue of waste management since then.
The Institute for Energy and Resource Management (IeRM), a local non-profit, 501c3 organization, has produced the following video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiotYo6RG5w to document how the Solid Waste Division has gamed the system so that continuing to landfill our solid waste appears to be the preferred method of disposal. In fact, it is the most harmful to public health and the environment, and, when externalities are taken into account, the most expensive as well.
What is the alternative? An Integrated Waste Management System, versions of which have been in place for years in Europe, can produce tangible and transparent recycling rates of near 70%, reduce environmental impacts such as methane emissions by millions of tons, and cost savings of billions of dollars while creating good jobs and recovering valuable resources.
The public deserves to know the truth.
Please reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
Philipp Schmidt-Pathmann
President & CEO