Click on City Seal to return to the Home page
Shawnee Connect
City Clerk's Department

Community Directory

Recycling/Solid Waste (Trash)

Trash Removal Service

Trash removal service is provided to businesses and residents by private companies. You may contract with a disposal service of your choice.  Residential trash haulers licensed in Shawnee include:

Trash haulers licensed in Shawnee must provide solid waste collection at least once a week. Residents experiencing problems with trash collection should notify the trash hauler of the problem.

Curbside Recycling

The City of Shawnee has offered a weekly curbside recycling program for single family residences since December 1, 1991. The current cost is $1.70/month through a City contract with Deffenbaugh Industries.

Please rinse out all containers. There is no need to sort the recyclables. All items are placed in one bin. All bins MUST be placed within three (3) feet from the curb-line or the edge of pavement.

Contact Deffenbaugh at (913) 631-3300.

Residents may also take materials to the following drop-off sites in Shawnee:

Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc. (913) 631-3300
St. Luke's Episcopal Church (913) 631-8597
Shawnee Community Services (913) 268-7746

Citywide Recycling Program

Shawnee’s curbside recycling program has expanded to include the collection of cardboard, phone books, catalogs and other additional paper materials. Cereal and soft drink boxes, as well as, junk mail and magazines, may be conveniently recycled with the usual weekly curbside collections. The City’s recycling contractor has implemented a new process that will help streamline the collection process and allow the monthly fee to remain at the current rate.

Glass containers will no longer be collected. Residents may continue to take glass containers at no charge to the recycling drop off site located at the entrance of the Johnson County Landfill at I-435 and Holliday Drive.

Recycling trucks are now rear-load type vehicles which allows the materials to be compacted so that a single vehicle can pick up from more houses than is now possible. Collection trucks should be clearly marked and used for recycling only. The collected materials are prepared for market at the Deffenbaugh materials recovery facility in Kansas City, Kansas, using a new state-of-the-art sorting facility.

The current recycling program, which began in 1991, has collected more than 92 million pounds of materials from Shawnee households.

Materials that can be Recycled

  • Newspaper
  • Catalogs
  • Ad inserts
  • Chipboard (cereal boxes, shoe & gift boxes)
  • Magazines
  • Phone books
  • Corrugated cartons (cut or reduced to 2’ x 2’ placed under recycling bin)
  • Brochures
  • Office paper
  • Manila folders
  • Junk mail
  • Carrier stock (cardboard soft drink & beer cartons)
  • Steel & bi-metal cans
  • Aluminum Cans
  • Plastic Containers labeled #1 PET (water & vegetable oil bottles)
  • Plastic containers labeled #2 (milk, shampoo and detergent bottles with a neck)

Materials that can not be Recycled

  • Books (hardback & paperback)
  • Egg cartons
  • Gift wrap or blueprints
  • Photographs or carbon paper
  • Tissues or paper towels
  • Plastic bags or string
  • Paper ream wrappers
  • Shredded paper
  • Hanging file folders
  • Frozen food containers
  • Dark or fluorescent paper
  • Paper cups & plates
  • Pet food, kitty litter, fertilizer or charcoal bags
  • Glass
  • Scrap metal
  • Yogurt or margarine tubs (including those labeled #1 & #2)
  • Vitamin or prescription bottles
  • Deli or Salad bar clamshells
  • Motor oil bottles
  • Film canisters
  • #3-#7 plastics
  • 6-pack holders
  • Automotive product bottles

Do Your Part

You have the opportunity to help protect our environment by participating in Shawnee's curbside recycling program.  By turning much of your household waste into useful material, you will help preserve the Earth's precious natural resources for generations to come.

The curbside program is one of the easiest ways you can "do your part" of recycling.  Our contractor, Deffenbaugh Recycling, will deliver bins for recyclable materials to your home in Shawnee.  Call Deffenbaugh at (913) 631-3300 to request a bin. Each week, you may place the bin with recyclables at the curb along with your trash, since collection of both will be on the same day.  If you do not use Deffenbaugh for trash collection, call them for your regular pick-up day. There is no need to separate recyclables.  Deffenbaugh Recycling will bill participating residents $1.70 each month.  Note: Deffenbaugh bills for a three month period.  The amount charged is $5.10 for three months.

Recycling Reminders

Aluminum, steel, and plastic containers can be commingled loose in the recycle bin.  Thoroughly rinse all containers. Flatten the large ones.  Don’t worry about labels or the plastic ring on the top of milk or pop containers, but do take all lids off.

To keep materials from blowing on those windy days, place newspapers in a paper grocery sack on top of other materials.  The paper sack serves as a paperweight. 

Place other recyclable paper in a separate paper grocery sack in bin.

Place recycling bin curbside before 7:00 am on your collection day.

Who is required to participate?

In 1991, the City established a mandatory pay, voluntary participation curbside recycling program for single family residences. Only residents who meet one of the following three criteria may be exempted from the program:

1) Financial Hardship
2) Physical Disability; or
3) Age 62 or older

Exemption forms may be obtained from the Licensing Division at Shawnee City Hall or click on the Curbside Recycling Exemption Application form, fill out the information, and mail to Shawnee City Hall, Licensing Division, 11110 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas 66203.

Everyone else must pay for recycling, whether they choose to participate or not. For those that qualify, exemption forms are available from the Licensing Division at City Hall. 

Recycling LogoWhy Recycle?

  • Preserves Natural Resources
  • Saves Valuable Energy
  • Saves Landfill Space
  • Reduces air and water pollution
  • Promotes New Business
  • Creates Jobs
  • Why Recycle (pdf)

 

Why Recycle?

You can call it solid waste, garbage, refuse or trash. It’s the waste we produce in our homes and businesses that we throw into cans and put out for pickup. Our trash, plus our neighbors’ and everyone else’s in the community, adds up to a massive pile of waste. About 80% of what Americans throw away is recyclable. During the first three quarters of 2007, the City of Shawnee curbside recycling program collected 5,175,927 pounds of recycled materials. Recycling is an important way for all of us to demonstrate our concern for the environment. Take this opportunity to show and make a commitment to conserve natural resources, save energy and reduce waste by recycling.

Recycle for the future

Each of us contributes three to five pounds of trash to the waste stream every day. In Shawnee alone, we fill about 3,500 trash trucks a year. Future generations will live by the standards we set today. By taking advantage of the curbside recycling program, you can help set the pace for tomorrow. For more information contact Shawnee City Hall at (913) 631-2500 x 240.

Recycling Smart!

Recycling reduces significantly the amount of land filled waste. Here are a few facts showing the impact of recycling:

  • Paper makes up about 41% of America's waste stream.
  • Each ton of paper recycled saves 3 cubic feet of landfill space.
  • Americans use 50 million tons of paper every year, requiring 850 million trees for paper production.
  • Recycled paper requires 30% to 50% less energy to make than paper made from trees.

One ton of paper produced from recycled paper saves:

  • Enough energy to power the average household for six months;
  • 7,000 gallons of water;
  • 60 pounds of air polluting materials; and
  • 17 trees.

Aluminum cans made from recycled aluminum requires 90% less energy than aluminum cans made from raw materials.  Electric energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a television set for 3 hours. Recycling aluminum helps reduce air pollution. Aluminum cans recycled in one year saves 15 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. Energy saved from recycling one glass bottle will light a 100-watt bulb for 4 hours. Glass made from recycled glass reduces air and water pollution.

Get Adobe Reader Icon Adobe Reader is needed to open pdf files.

City Hall, 11110 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, KS 66203
(913) 631-2500 Fax (913) 631-7351 E-Mail