KC Seeks More Volunteers for Recycling Program

The first two phases of Kansas City, Missouri’s RecycleFIRST curbside recycling program have been so successful that organizers are calling on more people to volunteer for the program. Volunteers are needed to educate residents about recycling and assist them with their recycling efforts.

According to John Stufflebean, director of the city’s Department of Environmental Management, the first phase of the project, started March 1, covered one sixth of the city. The second phase, introduced June 1, covered an additional one sixth of the city.

The next phase will add an additional one third of the city to the program. When this phase is introduced the curbside program will cover about 100,000 households in the city.

The final phase is set to begin Dec. 1. That phase will cover the remaining third of the city.

“With just one-third of the city phased in at this time, we are already recycling about a million pounds of material a month, which is even better than our predictions for this point in the program,” said John Stufflebean, director of the Department of Environmental Management.

Phase 3, which begins Sept. 1, covers twice as many households as either of the first two phases, and will require many more volunteers. The RecycleFIRST educational campaign relies on volunteers to educate residents about the program by serving one hour per week as recycling ambassadors in their own neighborhood, or as RecycleFIRST speakers for neighborhood groups.

In addition, the increased use of the recycling centers has dramatically increased the need for recycling center volunteers. These volunteers work four hours per month to help patrons with their recyclables and answer recycling questions.

Deffenbaugh Recycling is handling the collection, processing and marketing of the material. The program is designed as a single-stream collection method. Material collected through the program includes old newspaper, old corrugated containers, paperboard, mixed paper, aluminum and tin cans, and No. 1 and No. 2 plastic. Glass is not being collected through the program.