Sedgwick County Trash

Sedgwick County > Community Development > Environmental Resources > Trash

In Sedgwick County, discarded material is taken to one of two transfer stations. Here the trash is dumped onto a concrete floor, then loaded into specially designed semi-trailers. These trailers take the trash to the Plumb Thicket Landfill in Harper County or the Red Carpet Landfill in Oklahoma.

Solid waste, or municipal solid waste (MSW), includes more than trash. The construction or the demolition of homes, commercial buildings, roads and highways produces waste that is called construction and demolition (C&D) debris. In 2001, Sedgwick County banned commercially generated C&D debris from the transfer stations. This waste is taken to a C&D landfill. There are two C&D landfills in Sedgwick County.

MSW also includes wood waste, yard waste and household hazardous waste. Household hazardous waste is the term given to the chemicals we use at our homes such as paint and paint products, automobile fluids, garden chemicals, and cleaners. MSW includes household and business recyclables.

Wood and yard waste can be taken to composting sites. Household hazardous waste can be taken to the Sedgwick County Household Hazardous Waste Facility for proper disposal. Recyclable materials are picked up or taken to drop-off locations.

In 2009, 63 percent of the MSW generated in Sedgwick County passed through the transfer stations before disposal in a MSW landfill. The remaining 37 percent was diverted to a C&D landfill, or through recycling, composting and the Household Hazardous Waste Facility.

We know there are materials recycled in Sedgwick County that go unreported. Tons of grass clippings are returned to the soil by mulch mowing. Yard waste gets composted in back yard piles. Grocers and retailers bail and ship their own cardboard. Because so many tons of recyclables go unreported, and because there is no standard formula for calculating recycling rates, we do not recommend comparing communities’ recycling rates.

An alternate comparison is to measure the amount of wastes buried in MSW landfills and report this measurement in pounds per person per day. This method accounts for reuse efforts and unreported recycling. In 2009, this number dropped to 4.8 pounds per person per day. The chart below shows Sedgwick County’s measurements from 1999 through 2009. A significant decrease was noted in 2002 and 2003. This can be attributed to the ban on commercially generated C&D material in October 2001.

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is a small portion of MSW. It is essential that these materials be kept out of landfills. The volume of material collected at Sedgwick County’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility continues to show an upward trend.

If we take a closer look at the tons of waste that pass through the transfer stations, it is evident that our trash consistently increases during the spring and summer months. This coincides with the season that grass and plants are growing. Sedgwick County encourages all residents and businesses to mulch mow, and leave the grass clippings on the lawn. Mulching mowers are recommended but not required. Non-mulching mowers can be fit with an inexpensive mulching blade.

Transfer Station Tonnage by Quarter

What can be done to decrease our trash?

Mulch mow
Compost yard waste
Recycle newspapers, magazines and catalogs, plastic bottles, tin and aluminum cans, and cardboard boxes
Take old paint, garden chemicals, and automobile fluids to the Household Hazardous Waste Facility
Donate usable items to a charity
Buy items with the least amount of packaging