More than half of what comes to King County’s Cedar Hills Regional Landfill as “garbage” is actually recyclable material.

To help reduce waste and conserve resources, King County’s Solid Waste Division is again offering a free, comprehensive, six-week program that teaches the art of waste prevention and recycling.

Program participants receive training on waste prevention, recycling, composting, and alternatives to household hazardous waste disposal in addition to receiving updates about food scrap and curbside recycling services in King County.

The program is open to all King County residents living outside the City of Seattle. In exchange for the free training, program graduates are expected to volunteer 40 hours of outreach within two years in King County, outside of Seattle.

Master Recycler Composter trainees become part of a select group of King County residents improving our environmental quality by sharing what they learn with friends, neighbors and the community at large.

Karen May, program coordinator for the Master Recycler Composter program, said King County has trained more than 600 volunteers since the program began in 1990.

“Those volunteers have provided nearly 21,000 hours of teaching others about waste prevention, recycling and composting through classroom presentations and staffing booths at community events,” May said.

Training sessions will run from April 22 to May 27 at the WSU King County Extension office, 200 Mill Ave. S. in Renton. Sessions are set for Wednesdays, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; two Saturday sessions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be a part of the training. Field trips are set for April 25 and May 16, and will feature hands-on activities and tours.

People with disabilities are encouraged to apply. The training site is wheelchair accessible and reasonable accommodations are available upon request. Please provide two weeks notice prior to the training if a sign language interpreter is needed.

Applications are due by April 15. For more information or to obtain an application for the training, visit www.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/mrc/index or contact May at 206-296-4353 or at karen.may@kingcounty.gov. Special accommodations should be requested by April 8.