UG Partners with Re.Use.Full to Launch Recycling Challenge

Published on April 22, 2024

Local nonprofit Re.Use.Full has teamed up with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS (UG) to launch the Community Recycling Challenge, a year-long recycling campaign to divert hard-to-recycle plastics from the landfill.

For every thousand pounds of material collected, Trex will repurpose the material into a park bench to be placed in the community. 

"Helping KCK residents connect not only with the importance of recycling but demonstrating how these efforts translate into a physical benefit for our community is a win-win," said Re.Use.Full Founder Leslie Scott.

Over the next 12 months, residents, workers, and visitors of Wyandotte County are asked to drop off certain plastic items, such as grocery bags, bread bags, bubble wrap, and sandwich bags, at one of the following locations:

• Neighborhood Resource Center (4953 State Avenue)
• Recycling & Yard Waste Center (3241 Park Drive)
• Municipal Building Lobby (701 N. 7th Street)

The goal is to collect 1,000 pounds of plastic items, which will then be used to produce a public bench made of these recycled items. This challenge is hosted by NexTrex, a company working to divert was from landfills and waterways. Re.Use.Full and the Unified Government will collect and weigh the items collected before they are sent to be repurposed.

"We have heard a lot from the community about dumping and the overall perception of blight," said Long-Range Planner Alyssa Marcy, "and this is exactly the type of initiative defined in our recently adopted PlanKCK comprehensive plan to help us address these issues."

The Public Works Solid Waste team will be working with Re.Use.Full to identify more opportunities for participation introduced in the coming months, including a way for community organizations and neighborhoods to create their own recycling drives and drop-off locations. 

"In the coming months, we will be announcing more ways the community can get involved with this challenge," said Diana Jimenez, Solid Waste Manager for the Unified Government. "We know that making recycling convenient is a great way to divert waste from our landfills and are eager to involve our neighborhoods in this effort."

Facebook Live Today at 2PM

Join us this afternoon at 2PM for a Facebook Live highlighting the partnership and challenge to learn more.

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