Trash in Sedgwick County

The following businesses are licensed to haul waste in Sedgwick County.

In Sedgwick County, discarded material is taken to a transfer station. 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.

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.

Information on the volumes of trash generated in Sedgwick County can be found in the most recent Solid Waste Plan update and the most recent Five Year Solid Waste Plan update.

 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