WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Businesses in Washington will soon have a new requirement for disposing of organic materials.

As of Jan. 1, a new law will be in place that requires businesses that produce a certain amount of food or yard waste to divert the materials into organics bins.

The Washington State Department of Ecology says that if a business accumulates eight or more garbage bins of waste per week, they will need to sign up to get a curbside organics bin. Some businesses are exempt from the rule, including those that already compost onsite, self-haul their organic materials or give their materials to another business for further use.

This new rule only applies to businesses within a designated area but includes portions of western Whatcom and Skagit Counties.

A map of the affected area will be available here.