Dive Brief:

• The Spokane City Council in Washington state ended the city's control of the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System. The city will retain ownership of the Waste-to-Energy plant.
• A unanimous vote by the council will give Spokane County the authority to oversee the regional trash system. It also approved the sale of two waste transfer stations to the county for $9.9 million.
• Washington requires that each city and county adopt a solid waste plan. All counties, except for King County, participate in a county plan that includes every city. Some cities are looking into operating their own waste services, but haven't reached a definitive decision yet.

Dive Insight:

The agreement brings risk to the city, which could lose half of the flow of waste if the county and other cities opt out of using the incinerator. The county could bypass the incinerator within three years if it pays off its debts for the transfer stations.