KANSAS
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT
BILL GRAVES, GOVERNOR
Gary R. Mitchell, Secretary
For Immediate Release
Contact: Don Brown, (785) 296-1529
Recycling Programs Tailored to Increase Success Rates
At curbside in bags or bins, or through a program that seeks to reduce waste volume by targeting its producers, recycling programs across Kansas are tailored for success in the communities where they operate.
In Hays, residents use the "blue bag" recycling program, so named because its light blue bags hold residents recyclables for curbside pick-up. In Olathe, residents "Bin and Win," by placing their recyclables in a covered hard plastic bin collected on the same day as trash. And in Lawrence, the city likes to boast it has the highest recycling rate in Kansas without a city-sponsored curbside recycling program.
Brenda Cary, assistant director of Public Works for the City of Hays, said dumpsters, curbside and other recycling options were considered before the blue bag system was chosen in the summer of 1995.
The decision was based on logistics and finances. Since city crews and equipment were already making twice weekly trash runs it was easy to convert one of those runs into a recyclables pick-up. A grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to help fund public education filled in a missing piece.
"The public education campaign was very, very effective in keeping the message in front of people, telling them what to do and when to do it," Cary said.
Five public informational meetings about the blue bag program were held in local schools, but Cary thinks the best source of education has been through the children of Hays. The Rainbow of Environmental Hope, an education program presented to third-graders by community volunteers, turned the city's children into zealous recyclers who would police their parents' recycling activities. It turns out there wasn't much policing necessary.
"Citizens of Hays are a proactive bunch and have a progressive nature," Cary said.
The program ought to be called "blue bags" with emphasis on the plural. One bag holds paper, cardboard, pizza boxes, etc.; the other is for tin or aluminum cans, glass and #1 and #2 plastic containers.
Once collected, Hays recyclables are taken to the city's Service Division yard and placed in roll-off containers, then transported to MidWest Iron and Metal in Hutchinson.
"This works for us because we don't have to have the staff to sort," Cary said. "Our main focus is waste diversion. We divert 40 percent from the waste stream."
Russell Fallis Jr., chairman of the Kansas Recyclers Association, favors the Hays recycling system.
"The blue bag program fits all households," Fallis said. "The handicapped or elderly need only to fill the bags to the point where they can get it to the curb. No city-owned special equipment, such as a truck, is necessary since the bags aren't sorted at curbside."
Olathe has a subscription curbside recycling program, "Bin and Win" -- resident who "bin" help to "win" the recycling cause.
Olathe residents pay an extra $2.25 on top of their waste fee to participate, said Kent Seyfried, solid waste manager. Recyclables drop-off sites are also located around town.
With about one-third of the city's residents taking part, the program remains self-sufficient because households are contributing a greater percentage of material than had been anticipated.
The recycling program was chosen after a 1996 survey of Olathe citizens showed two results: The city service with which residents were most satisfied was trash service; the service considered in most need of improvement was recycling. They wanted curbside.
A KDHE grant provided public education in brochures that were distributed when the city delivered its trash bags to homeowners. The City of Olathe also initiated its own recycling awareness campaign.
In Lawrence, with its high population of college students, municipal curbside recycling programs are not practical. Instead, according to Molly Mangerich, Operations Supervisor, Waste Reduction and Recycling Division, City of Lawrence, the city focused its efforts on reducing waste streams.
Mangerich said major producers of waste were identified. The goal was to increase the capture rate for recyclables in waste streams where the most good can occur.
For example, in targeting residential customers, it was discovered 30 percent of the entire residential waste stream was yard waste. Lawrence now has a curbside pick-up program for yard waste and a weekly drop-off time to accept woody waste and brushy debris in conjunction with the city's parks and recreation facility.
Within the commercial waste stream, cardboard was a major source of solid waste. Special bins placed near businesses for the collection of cardboard allowed participating companies to reduce their trash collection fees.
Community drop boxes in Lawrence accept residential mixed waste paper and monthly household hazardous waste collection events handle that portion of the waste stream.
The city forms partnerships when possible. Last year Lawrence spearheaded "Countdown to Earth Day," an eight-week program designed to reduce all the waste streams and to educate residents about how to reduce, reuse and recycle. Local media partnered with the project, providing public service announcements and news coverage.
The combined efforts mean 30 percent of the waste stream is diverted through these methods.
Conclusion: Kansas communities can tailor recycling efforts to best meet the needs of their cities.