Island County commissioners are once again wondering what can be done to fix a lack of options for recycling cars, particularly on South Whidbey.

The topic came up last week at a work session during a discussion of the county’s new recycling contract. Commissioner Melanie Bacon was surprised to learn that none of the three bidders for the contract accept cars as a recyclable item.

“There’s few things more solid waste-y than a car, than a broken down old car,” Bacon said.

Commissioner Jill Johnson agreed it was a problem because people living on South Whidbey are told to get their junk vehicles off their properties with no place to take them.

“You shouldn’t expect someone to haul that car for an hour up to the North End,” she said.

And it can be costly to get rid of them. Assistant Public Works Director James Sylvester said a Clinton resident could be charged around $400 to have their car hauled away by a company located on North Whidbey.

Commissioner Janet St. Clair suggested putting out a separate request for proposals for a vendor that does accept cars. Sylvester pointed out that car recycling is highly regulated by the Department of Licensing to avoid theft of cars and sale of the parts.

Johnson wondered aloud if the disposal of vehicles should be a responsibility of county government, but stressed that she didn’t want to interfere with the private companies that do it. Public Works Director Fred Snoderly said that it was the county’s responsibility to at least look into it, as the department has dealt with abandoned RVs at the side of the road.

“It’s possible to actually find a waypoint that cars could actually come to and then offset some of the cost,” he said.

Public Works staff said they were committed to putting this issue on the department’s 2026 work plan.