Kansas Statewide Rule
Kansas Requires County Solid Waste Plans to Address Recycling
Key Facts
- Statute
- K.S.A. 65-3405(j)(9)
- Enforcing agency
- KDHE (health & environment)
- Who must comply
- County governments
- Resident recycling mandate
- None statewide
- Plan review
- Annual updates required
Summary
Kansas has no statewide mandate forcing residents or businesses to recycle. But under the Solid Waste Management Act, every county's solid waste management plan must set a schedule for reducing waste volumes through source reduction, reuse, recycling and composting.
Every plan shall: ... (9) Establish a schedule for the reduction of waste volumes taking in consideration the following: (A) Source reduction; (B) reuse, recycling, composting; and (C) land disposal.
Full Breakdown
K.S.A. 65-3405(j)(9) requires every county solid waste management plan to 'establish a schedule for the reduction of waste volumes' weighing source reduction, reuse, recycling, composting and land disposal. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reviews and approves each plan, and counties update them annually and revise them on the schedule KDHE sets. The obligation runs to county governments, not individual households, so no state law compels a Kansas resident to separate recyclables. Cities and counties build their own curbside, drop-off and diversion programs on top of this planning floor.
Violations & Penalties
A county whose plan omits a waste-reduction and recycling schedule risks disapproval by KDHE's secretary, which can block plan adoption and jeopardize state solid waste planning support. No penalty falls on individual residents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Kansas require residents to recycle?
Who enforces the county planning requirement?
What must a county plan include on recycling?
Sources
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