Kansas Recycling Numbers Rising

Kansans have been recycling more and more of their waste.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says the state’s recycling rate has risen from about 18 percent in 2005 to 34 percent in 2013. The agency says the numbers reflect the percent of waste that ends up in recycling facilities instead of landfills.

Bill Bider, director of KDHE’s Bureau of Waste Management, says the recycling rate has improved each year over the last decade.

The agency also said in a release that the per capita daily disposal rate has dropped by about a fourth since 2005 to about 4 pounds per day.

Kansas has 52 municipal solid waste landfills with enough estimated total capacity for about 40 years.