What can you recycle?
The most commonly recycled materials are steel, aluminum, mixed-metal cans, newspapers, office paper, corrugated cardboard, plastic and glass bottles and yard waste.

Where can you recycle?
Recycling programs vary from one Kansas community to the next, but these are the most common options:

Drop-off centers, which can be permanent or mobile
Curbside collection programs
Buy-back centers, which will pay you for recyclable materials
Companies, which sometimes buy recyclables from offices, schools and other institutions.

Does Kansas have a recycling policy?
Most states tell local communities how certain recycling goals must be met. That hasn’t been necessary in the Sunflower State. In Kansas, local communities decide how to manage waste, while the state provides some resources to help implement those local decisions. The voluntary approach has proven to be successful. Recycling programs are popular throughout the state.

Drop-off centers are the most common method used for recycling in Kansas, but more and more communities are also developing curbside recycling programs.

E-waste
The rapid pace of change in the field of electronics has made home appliances and office equipment both affordable and widely used. Much of this equipment is now obsolete or worn out and adds to a steadily increasing waste stream. E-scrap, or e-waste, refers to electronic products that have finished their useful life. This includes televisions and monitors, computers, computer peripherals, audio and stereo equipment, VCRs, DVD players, video cameras, telephones, fax and copying machines, cellular phones, wireless devices, and video game consoles.

In the year 2000, the United States produced over 2,124,400 tons ¹ of e-waste. Industry experts estimate this amount had tripled by 2005.

¹ "Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2000 Facts and Figures". US EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. June 2002, Pages 150-160.

The State of Kansas has recognized the need for and supports e-scrap recycling. E-scrap takes up valuable landfill space and contains substances that should be disposed of in an environmentally appropriate manner. The following substances can be found in e-scrap:

Substance Occurrence in e-waste:

What can we do?
Many businesses throughout Kansas collect and process e-scrap. KOR urges every person in Kansas to locate the business nearest them for the safe and environmentally appropriate way to dispose of all worn out and out of date electronic items. The following case study proves what can be done.