Lawrence, KS Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 9-508(a) enumerates nine categories of permitted recyclable material: glass food and beverage containers, mixed paper such as magazines and junk mail, newsprint, office printer and copier paper, shredded paper if bagged in clear plastic, unwaxed corrugated cardboard, tin/steel/aluminum/bimetal food and beverage containers, scrap metal under 30 inches and 50 pounds per piece, and plastic containers marked #1 through #7. The governing body can add to or trim that list by ordinance under § 9-508(b). Section 9-509 sets the prep rules: glass, metal, and plastic containers must be empty before they go in the cart, and paper materials must be clean and dry, with residents expected to follow whatever additional preparation rules and regulations the city issues.

Section 9-512 turns several of these expectations into municipal offenses: it is unlawful to remove material someone else set out for recycling, to upset or damage a recycling container, to set out recycling that didn't originate from that address without city approval, to place non-permitted material in a recycling container, or to intentionally contaminate or soil recyclable material so that the city or its material recovery facility rejects the load. Section 9-513 makes each of those acts a separate municipal offense carrying a minimum fine set in the city fee schedule.