Lake Forest Park and Kenmore residents haul their own garbage during sympathy strike against Republic Services

Line up to drop off garbage at Lake Forest Park

Story and photos by Jamie Holter

Thousands of Lake Forest Park and Kenmore residents are still without waste and recycling pickup service as Republic Services enters a second week of suspended operations.

Republic Services unionized workers are honoring a nationwide Teamsters strike that was called July 9, 2025.

Republic workers unload a resident's car

Lake Forest Park is one of the few cities with nearby waste drop-off locations. Most western Washington cities have yet to hear when and where they can offload their mounting garbage.

On Thursday, a steady stream of residents entered the Lake Forest Park Towne Centre parking lot near city hall to transfer garbage into the line of waiting Republic Services trucks. Republic workers moved quickly to direct traffic and help customers with bags.

Republic brought in workers from across the country to help manage the backlog. “I’m here from Florida. I’ve worked for Republic for 18 years. We’re just up here to help out,” said one worker.

Worker directing traffic

Republic Services sent updated information to My Neighborhood News Network Thursday afternoon.

“We are prioritizing critical customers this week and working as quickly as we can to resume service. We have drop-off locations in six [Western Washington] cities and are adding more in the coming days. The most recent service updates can be found here.”

Lake Forest Park times and locations can be found here. The dates and times will be updated as available.

“We have deployed several Republic Services employees from other areas to assist with collections, and our management team is working with temporary labor to manage the drop-off locations.

"We are grateful to our city partners for their collaboration and support as we worked to set these up for residents,” the statement continued.