Some plastics in your Kansas City area recycling bin may go to the landfill. Here’s why
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Let’s talk trash
Readers across the Kansas City metro kept asking us about trash: Is recycling really recycled? What’s up with all the trash on the highways? And where does our trash actually go when we throw it away? We’re digging in — literally.
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Editor’s note: This story is part of The Star’s series “Talking Trash.” All of the stories were inspired by questions and concerns we heard from Kansas Citians through listening sessions, an online callout and other conversations in our community. You can share thoughts in the form at the bottom of this story, or email kcq@kcstar.com.
Plastic recycling is a fraught topic in the environmental world. Some argue that plastic recycling takes about as much energy as it saves, canceling out its environmental benefit. Others lament China’s decision to stop accepting recycled plastic from the U.S.
Some recyclers in the Kansas City area shared their doubts and questions about plastic recycling with The Star in recent months.
Reader Stephen Hawks from the Northland asked about the mechanics of plastic recycling, wondering how it works.
Reader Joel Walsh from the Northeast wondered whether recycling plants in the metro really have buyers for all the materials they accept.
The Star visited both of the recycling facilities that serve the metro: One, in Shawnee, is operated by Waste Management, while the other just outside Harrisonville, Missouri, is operated by GFL.
So, does the plastic you recycle really end up in the landfill?
A small amount of it does. The Star found that a few of the less-common types of plastic are actually ending up in landfills around Kansas City, even though local guidelines tell residents that those plastics are recyclable.
Which plastics are not actually being recycled in Kansas City?
Kansas City’s non-recyclable plastics bear the resin codes #3, #6 and #7. Those are the little numbers inside the triangle symbol on the bottom of most plastic items that refer to the type of plastic they are made from.
Here’s what they mean:
#3 plastics are made from polyvinyl chloride or PVC, which is most commonly associated with the plastic pipes used in plumbing and other construction. It’s also used to make a variety of medical equipment, packaging, flooring and other sturdy items.
#6 plastics are made from polystyrene, more commonly known as styrofoam. This hard-to-recycle plastic is used to make CD cases, disposable cups, food packaging and insulation.
#7 plastics are made from any other type of plastic or mixed plastics not specified by the resin codes #1 through #6. These items include baby bottles, CDs, some car parts and other items.
Although some of the items made from these plastics are technically recyclable, they are not economically viable to recycle in the KC metro due to low quantities and a lack of buyers in the area willing to repurpose them.
Why do Kansas Citians recycle plastics #3, #6 and #7?
The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) is the authority on recycling in the greater metro area. The organization serves local governments in Jackson, Cass, Clay, Platte, Ray, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami and Wyandotte counties.
MARC’s Solid Waste division publishes guidance on what to recycle. Since March of 2018, this guidance has included “plastic bottles and containers #1 through #7.”
There aren’t many bottles or containers made from plastics #3 or #7 to begin with — but consumers often try to recycle other items bearing these numbers if they believe they will be accepted.
Matt Riggs, an outreach coordinator for MARC’s solid waste division, told The Star that his organization’s guidelines are based on what both recycling facilities said they accepted when the reference materials were created.
“That’s what they told us: We want one through seven,” Riggs said. “Our two reliable, longtime contacts with those companies… we go by what they tell us.”
Here’s the problem: Neither facility says it has ever taken plastics with the resin codes #3, #6 or #7 for as long as managers can remember.
“There is no market for those,” said Lisa Disbrow, the government and public affairs director at Waste Management, which owns and operates the Shawnee facility. “I don’t think there’s ever been a market.”
“For seven years, I’ve been at this facility and we’ve never accepted them as recyclable,” said Jeremy Cooper, the manager of the GFL recycling plant in Harrisonville.
Riggs said that MARC is in the process of changing its website and messaging to specify that only plastics #1, #2, #4 and #5 are acceptable to recycle in the metro.
But in the meantime, he insisted that MARC’s guidelines are based on information the group got directly from the recycling facilities.
Why are the KC area’s plastics guidelines different from what actually happens in recycling facilities?
Some recycling guidelines have more to do with uniform messaging than with end markets in the area. The wording often comes down to local ordinances and contracts for recycling haulers, said Tom Coffman, GFL’s government contracts manager.
Coffman told The Star that processing facilities all over the region have to accept plastics #1 through #7 — whether they want to or not — because of stipulations in these ordinances and contracts.
“Almost every solid waste ordinance in every city that has curbside (recycling) spells out one through seven,” he said. “It’s a combination of contract language and solid waste ordinance language that all haulers and all processors face.”
Recycling expert Tom Szaky told The Star that municipal guidelines in the U.S. often allow plastics #1 through #7 as part of the “single stream” model to make recycling easier for consumers — not to mislead them about what will actually be recycled.
“I don’t think it’s malicious,” he said. “This whole idea of single stream recycling was born out of the idea of convenience.
Szaky is the CEO of TerraCycle, an organization which runs recycling programs in more than 20 countries around the world.
Kansas City’s solid waste code defines “recyclable materials” as “refuse materials… that are of such a nature that they may be reprocessed or remanufactured for secondary use.”
The city’s website also lists “all plastic bottles and containers marked 1 - 7” as recyclable as long as they have all liquids removed and their caps or lids are attached.
But after these materials have left the curb, the city doesn’t regulate where they end up. For a few types of plastic, this final resting place is the landfill.
“The devil in our world”
Plastic bags, cling wrap and other filmy plastics are a major culprit in making recycling more difficult for facilities.
Tronnie Blair, who runs the WM facility in Shawnee, the rotating combs of one of his facility’s largest sorting machines have to be cleaned out three or more times a day to remove filmy plastic. At the Harrisonville facility, the problem is even worse — Cooper said his plant stops the machinery up to 12 times per day to clean out the filmy plastic gunk.
“Single-use plastic bags are the devil in our world,” Coffman said.
Blair echoed this sentiment, adding that it’s important not to package your recyclables in standard plastic garbage bags. These bags can end up in the landfill when workers don’t have time to tear them open and empty out the recyclables inside.
“If our operators have time to open those bags and dump them, they will, but the vast majority of them, they just simply don’t have time,” he said. “I mean, we’re running 25 tons an hour through the system. So we don’t have time to stop and open every bag.”
Instead, he asked that recyclers leave their items loose in their bins or recycling carts.
While regular recycling plants can’t handle them, filmy plastics can be recycled using special equipment. Some area Wal-Mart, HyVee and Target stores have drop-off spots. Find where you can drop yours off by entering your ZIP code here.
How can I make sure my recyclables don’t end up in the landfill?
As MARC updates its materials, avid recyclers can start keeping plastics #3, #6 and #7 out of the blue bin immediately. These items likely make up a small percentage of the plastics you recycle day to day.
Consumers can also pay attention to what they buy, ensuring that the packaging they bring into their homes will find a place in the recycling stream rather than in a landfill.
“What we should encourage is proper communication, so citizens know what’s happening, and then can maybe buy the products that are actually being sorted for recycling,” Szacky told The Star.
To brush up on what belongs in your recycling bin, review our guide to common recycling mistakes in the metro and learn more about how recycling facilities actually work.
If you can’t find a resin code number and aren’t sure whether a plastic container is recyclable, both facility managers said it’s best to assume it isn’t.
“We’d prefer they didn’t put it in there,” said Blair. “Find out whether or not, and put it in next time.”
Coffman from GFL put it even more succinctly:
“When in doubt, throw it out.”
Do you have more questions about recycling in the metro? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published April 5, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
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