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County, cities provide recycling

By Caroline Trowbridge - | Dec 24, 2002

Numerous recycling opportunities are available throughout Leavenworth County.

Periodic recycling dates are set in Tonganoxie, Basehor and the city of Leavenworth for a variety of recyclable items. And the Leavenworth County Transfer Station, which accepts a wide variety of materials, is open six days a week, as well as on most holidays.

In Tonganoxie, recycling is available monthly. Paper, aluminum, tin, glass and some plastics may be recycled from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. the second Saturday of each month at the Leavenworth County Fairgrounds in Tonganoxie.

¢ The monthly SORT recycling drop-offs in Tonganoxie occur from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. the second Saturday of each month. Recycling is available at city hall Basehor from 9 a.m. to noon the first Saturday of each month. And in the city of Leavenworth, recycling is available from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, at Lawrence Avenue and Halderman Road. These items may be recycled at these sites:

¢ Paper, including newspapers, telephone books, magazines, corrugated cardboard, cracker and cereal boxes and school papers.

¢ Aluminum, including aluminum cans, foil and pie plates. Make sure these items are clean.

¢ Glass, including food and beverage containers. Make sure these items are clean. Glass items that are not accepted include drinking glasses, pie dishes, light bulbs and window glass.

¢ Plastic, including non-oil food product containers such as laundry soap, milk jugs. The openings must be smaller than the base, so butter tubs, cottage cheese and dips tubs are not accepted. Make sure these containers have been rinsed.

¢ The Leavenworth County Solid Waste Transfer Station, just east of Kansas Highway 7 on Gilman Road, accepts all of these items, as well as tires, yard waste, appliances and construction waste. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, including all holidays, except Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Also in Tonganoxie, paper recycling is available at bins at the elementary school and junior high school, as well as at West Haven Baptist Church and the Christian Church. Area residents may deposit magazines, shopping catalogs, newspapers, mail, and office and school papers.

The Leavenworth County Solid Waste Transfer Station also accepts paper, aluminum, tin, glass and some plastics, as well as tires, yard waste, appliances and construction waste.

The transfer station, which is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, is at 24936 136th St., which is east of Kansas Highway 7 on Gilman Road. The station is open on all holidays, except Christmas and New Year’s Day, according to Debbie McRill, the county’s solid waste management coordinator.

The recycling program is free, but the county charges for construction waste and household trash. The costs, which are expected to increase after the first of the year are $26.50 a ton for construction waste and $22.50 a ton for household trash, McRill said. A $5 minimum fee is charged, she said.

Residents of Leavenworth County may dispose of tires for free, as well as household hazardous wastes. Household hazardous wastes include paint, pesticides and herbicides, antifreeze and vehicle oil.

“It’s anything that you generate as a household that would be considered a toxic waste or a hazardous waste,” McRill said.

Large metal items also may be taken to the transfer station, also at no charge.

“We’ve accepted nearly 900 tons of metal this year,” McRill said.

That includes desks, exercise equipment, bicycles, barn tin and car parts.

“If it’s primarily metal, it’s free to recycle it or bring it out for disposal for recycling,” McRill said.

The transfer station also accepts yard waste, including grass and leaves.

“That’s becoming a more and more popular program,” McRill said.