Community Recycling

What do I do with this?

Knowing what you can recycle can be a little bit tricky, but here are a few resources here to help you out.

  1. If you have recycling service through Shawnee County Solid Waste, check out their curbside recycling collection guide to make sure you know what to put in your bin and what to leave out. Note: Plastic clamshells are not accepted, even if they're marked as recyclable. Here's why. 
  2. For anything you can't put in your curbside bin, check out Keep America Beautiful's comprehensive guide for where to recycle a wide variety of other materials in Topeka.
  3. Glass needs to be recycled in one of the dedicated glass-recycling bins throughout town (not your curbside bin). These bins take bottles as well as spent candles, window glass, and more! You can even toss in the metal lids from glass jars (separately or screwed on to the jar).
  4. Large amounts of cardboard can be recycled in the yellow bulk cardboard dumpsters throughout town. Make sure you only include cardboad (which is brown on the inside when you tear it), not paperboard (which is white on the inside). 
  5. You may be able to recycle more than you think in the plastic bag receptacles at grocery stores. Bread bags, ziplock bags, cereal bags, and the plastic wrap around toilet paper are just some of the additional items you can put in the bins.
  6. Textiles, including fabric scraps and unwearable clothing, can be recycled through many thrift shops and outlets that accept clothing donations. You can also purchase a bag to recycle textiles through a mail-in service or drop of clothing in some department stores, such as H&M. For fabric remnants and leftover crafting supplies, check out Scraps KC in Kansas City. Scraps KC also takes many office supplies and other miscellaneous remnants. Check out the list of accepted items on their website. We will accept these items in our shop as well, for delivery to Scraps KC. 
  7. Materials that can't be recycled through any of the above options can probably be recycled through one of the TerraCycle programs. See if we accept the items you want to get rid of, or check out the TerraCycle website to purchase your own box or enroll in programs as an individual or on behalf of your organization or business.

Still confused? We're not recycling experts, but we'll try to help you find answers. Feel free to drop us a line at info@fullcirclesustainability.org, and we'll share what we know!