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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm

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Shawnee County Solid Waste, 1515 NW Saline Suite #225, Topeka, KS (2026)

06/01/2026

🚨Important Notice🚨

🚨Please Share!

🚨 Free Dump Day Postponed!🚨

Free Landfill Day Postponed

WM has notified Shawnee County Solid Waste that, due to ongoing construction projects at the landfill, the scheduled Free Landfill Day will need to be postponed.

This decision was made by WM with safety as the top priority. With active construction taking place at the facility, WM determined that postponing the event is the safest option for residents, landfill staff, drivers, contractors, and everyone who would be on-site during the event.

Shawnee County Solid Waste appreciates our continued partnership with WM and their commitment to ensuring Free Landfill Day can be held in a safe and organized manner.

A new date will be announced once it has been determined.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding.

One positive note - You now have more time to go thru and identify all of your junk you need to discard.🧐

05/29/2026

Short week Friday post with some bonus entertainment material.

Man, you have to love these condensed short weeks!

In fact, I would like to make a motion for a permanent four-day work week and whatever time-change situation we are currently on.
Can I get a second? 🧐

Welp, there was a lot of silliness this week on the interwebs that deserves to be talked about, but we won’t.

Instead, on a much more bittersweet note…

Now, y’all know all about the Nice Office Ladies and everything they do around here. Well, there is one special Nice Office Lady who is truly the unsung hero of this department.

The Nice Office Lady Boss Lady.

After 45 years of service with Shawnee County Solid Waste, she has decided to opt out of going to work ever again and pursue that retirement option everyone keeps talking about.

Now, we are not going to get all misty-eyed talking about how much she has done for the County.

👉Or how many businesses she has helped with their commercial accounts.
👉Or how many community events she worked behind the scenes to make sure everything went off without a hitch.
👉Or how many times she quietly kept the train on the tracks while the rest of us were busy trying to figure out where the tracks even were.

Nope.

We are not going to do that.
For two reasons.

One, she would not want all that fuss.

She is just a wonderful lady who filled in for another lady who went on maternity leave 45 years ago… and apparently that lady never came back. And from that day forward, she simply tried to do the best job she could taking care of the customers, employees, and daily chaos of this department.

And two, we have already lost all the Gen Z folks. They done scrolled on to the next post of someone making fish-lip selfies in front of a park bench.

Anywhoz…

On behalf of every customer and every employee, past and present, who has ever been helped, guided, rescued, corrected, redirected, or gently herded by you: Thank you, De!

We are going to miss you more than you know, and we wish you the absolute best in your retirement.

I’m not crying. You’re crying.
Where’s my dang box of tissues?

Ok then. Enough of the sappy stuff.

Tis Friday.
Tis quitting time.
Tis time for your…

Weekend Safety Brief!

The Standard 3 D’s:
👉Don’t drink and drive.
👉Don’t do stupid.
👉Don’t even think about starting an internet fight just because you think you are all that and a bag of chips because the internet is very unforgiving, and people have really long memories so when you come crawling back after getting your two days of look-at-me street cred, well, you know what to expect. Just saying...

Special Bonus Topic: Financial Safety

Now look. We get it. Or at least some of us do.

But don’t be out there trying to live the H-Town swangas life on 28% interest.

Because one day you’ll be swangin’ and bangin’ through town, feeling like the mayor of chrome-plated poor financial decisions…

And the next day, your whip will be hard parked proudly on blocks because the repo man finally got ya.

Rule # 48 - Don’t live a champagne lifestyle on a generic beer budget.

And besides, you can’t bring H-Town culture to T-Town streets, because one pothole will ruin your wallet super quick.

Ask me how I know… 😡🤬😡

Have a great weekend!
Be safe.
Make good choices.
&
Be a marginally good human.

PS-I see you. Keep going

PPS-Some of you never had white-label generic products, and it shows.

PPPS-If the automotive-cultural wheelie bin memes escape you, I promise I’ll do better.

PPPPS - 45 years ago, MTV debuted. And they played music videos! which was pretty cool.

PPPPPS-Love ya, Byeee.

05/28/2026

Ta-da!

You thought we skipped this week, didn’t ya?
Nope.

Due to the holiday week, we just slid one day to the right.
At least, that is my story, and I am sticking to it.🤐

Continuing on our numerical journey through the mysterious world of plastics…

Last time, we talked about #2 plastics.

So naturally, today we are moving on to:
#3 plastics.

Or, for the nerds who parted their hair down the middle and actually stayed awake during chemistry class:

Polyvinyl Chloride.
Also known as PVC.

Now PVC is the tough guy of the plastic family.
It’s used for things like pipes, siding, shower curtains, flooring, packaging, and about 47 other random things currently in your house.

But here’s the important part:

PVC is NOT accepted in your blue-lidded recycling cart.

Not today.
Not tomorrow.
Not no time ever.

Why?

Because PVC is not the same as your milk jug, detergent bottle, or soda bottle.

It is made differently, melts differently, processes differently, and can cause problems when mixed in with the plastics that are actually recyclable through our program.

So even if you see that little recycling triangle with a #3 inside it, that does not mean it belongs in your recycling cart.

And yes, we know. That little triangle is misleading.
It makes people think:
“Hey, this has the recycling arrows on it, so it must be recyclable.”

Unfortunately, that symbol is not a recycling permission slip.
It is simply a resin identification code.

That means it tells us what type of plastic it is.
It does not mean your local recycling program accepts it.

So let’s make this simple.

Like Barney-style simple:

#3 plastics / PVC = Trash.
Not the blue-lidded wheelie bin.

“But the other place recycles .”

Look, you believe what you want to believe. That is all that I will say about that. If it helps you sleep at night, you keep on keeping on.
Just not in our blue-lidded wheelie bin.

So remember:

Just because something has a recycling symbol on it does not mean it goes in the blue-lidded wheelie bin.

When in doubt, throw it out.

Or in the case of #3 plastics, just go ahead and give it a toss in the trash.

05/25/2026

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

~John McCrae

05/22/2026

Ok good friends of Solid Waste!

This week is all about y’all. You did it!
You made it to the weekend.

And you pushed our little garbage-slinging, kid-waving, call-taking Solid Waste Department across the line to hit the magical 10,000 followers.

We love each and every one of you.

Okay… maybe not that one. But we do hope your week gets better.

And you know what we got for hitting 10K?
Nothing.
Nix.
Nein.
Nada.

Where was the ka-boom?
There was supposed to be an earth-shattering ka-boom.

Instead, here we are, sitting in a solid third place behind Parks & Wreck and the Sheriff’s Office.

But who are we kidding? They have fish and flowers and guns and doggies and stuff.

We only have trucks, wheelie bins, raccoon memes, and the best’ist employees ever.

And that, my friends, is why we are the best’ist municipal solid waste collection service in Shawnee County.

Regardless, it ain’t about us, the department.
It’s about US. The extended little trashy family.

We’re glad you’re here. We hope you learn a thing or two. And maybe, every once in a while, you chuckle hard enough to snort.

Anywhoz…
I’m gonna keep this sort of short and go run another victory lap around the catacombs of the North Annex.

Besides, I am well aware that I am standing between you and a long weekend.

Who am I fooling? You already dipped out at work and are 3 to 4 glasses into your weekend, sitting in a lawn chair, staring at your hummingbird feeder, wondering where the butterflies are at. 🥴

So let’s get to your extended…

WEEKEND SAFETY BRIEF!

This week’s message is sponsored in whole by the Soldier Creek River Pilots Association.

As always, remember the 3 Ds:
👉Don’t drink and drive.
👉Don’t do stupid.
👉Don’t let a bad choice ruin your weekend.

And since this is an extended weekend, we have a special bonus topic:
Boating and Camping Safety

🚨Wear a life jacket. Yes, we know you made it across the deep end that one time without touching the rope.
🚨Stay seated in the boat. Don’t pretend you’re ol’ girl from Titanic.
🚨Wear sunscreen. Another excellent opportunity to Mess Around & Find Out.
🚨Return to the dock with the same number of people you left with. Especially in-laws…
🚨Do not straddle the lanes at the boat ramp unless you want to make a whole bunch of new friends real fast. For Real
🚨Boat drain plug. Duh.
🚨Keep the alcohol at the campsite, not on the boat.
🚨Campfire safety matters. Do not break out the guitar and start playing Wonderwall. Nobody wants that.
🚨Don’t leave food out at night, because See More and his cousins will make a special guest appearance and judge you on your camping culinary skills.
🚨Don’t leave a mess. Seriously.
🚨Put the rain fly on your tent now, or at 2:07 a.m. Your choice.

🚨And before you stumble off into the wood line with one remaining flip-flop, you might want to be aware that poison ivy is everywhere. That’s Mother Nature’s little prank on us.

Have a great weekend!
Be safe!
Make good choices.
Be a good human. Or at least a slightly above-average human.

PS-I see you. Keep going.

PPS-I have a sticky note on my calendar that says “May 16 @ 4:00 p.m.” I have no clue what that means. Did I stand anybody up last weekend?

PPPS-My favorite pothole on lower Silver Lake Road, I’m going to miss swerving around you. Until we meet again, my friend. Probably next year. 🫶

PPPPS-Holiday week coming up!

PPPPPS-Some of you have no idea what an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator is, and it shows.

PPPPPPS-To the nice lady who didn’t have a good Solid Waste departmental experience, thank you for reaching out so we could correct the issue. And a big neck hug for not coming at us sideways. You are a good human. Bless your heart, in the good way, not the southern way.

PPPPPPPS-If you want hours of entertainment, go to the boat ramp with a lawn chair this Saturday afternoon. You will see some things that cannot be unseen. For additional fun, take some number panels and score the activities.

PPPPPPPPS-This just in! Hot off the presses: the official word is still no bears in Kansas. Or mountain lions. Or wolves. Or mooses.

PPPPPPPPPS-Love ya. Byeeee.

05/21/2026

Lemme slide in here unexpectedly on a Thursday afternoon…

Just a friendly reminder that the Solid Waste office will be closed Monday, May 25, 2026, in observance of Memorial Day.

Of course, you would already know this if you had consulted your handy-dandy holiday calendar or checked that free text message from Recycle Coach informing you of the schedule change.

So, for those of you tracking like a bloodhound, you may return to your regularly scheduled afternoon activities.

But…

If you are one of the 324 new customers who have come aboard since January, you might not be familiar with Recycle Coach yet.

Recycle Coach can answer most of your recycling questions (yes, we know we still have a few corrections to make) but more importantly, it can send you a 100% free text message the night before your scheduled collection day reminding you to put your wheelie bins out by the street or alley.

Even better, it will also notify you of any scheduled collection day changes during holiday weeks.

Simply sign up right there on our web page. https://snco.gov/sw/

And one more friendly reminder for the whole class:

No bulky item pickup or yard waste pickup during holiday weeks.

05/20/2026

Continuing our little education series…

Last time, we started with the #1 plastics.
So what do you think we’re talking about next?

Yep. #2 plastics.

Or, for you scientific folks who like using the big words at parties:
High-Density Polyethylene.

Also known as HDPE.

Now, if PET plastic is the little prima donna in the sports car wearing driving gloves, HDPE is the blue-collar worker in the pickup truck with work boots.

HDPE is the heavy lifter of the plastic world.

Taking a gander at the actual contract language , because apparently we have to be official once in a while, it says:

“HDPE plastic bottles with the symbol #2 — milk, water bottles, detergent, and shampoo bottles, etc.”

But we’re going to expand that out just a bit, because #2 HDPE shows up in several sturdy little containers that are acceptable.

We’re talking about your #2 plastics like:
Milk jugs.
Water jugs.
Detergent bottles.
Shampoo bottles.
Buckets.
Tubs.
Pill bottles (large ones)

The rules are still pretty simple:
Empty it.
Rinse it.
Lids on.
Don’t crush it.

That’s it.
And remember:

Just because something has a recycling symbol on it does not automatically mean it goes in the blue-lidded wheelie bin.

So for now, keep it simple:
#2 HDPE bottles, buckets, and tubs? Yes.
Random plastic mystery objects? No.

And remember, as technology evolves, so does the list of what is accepted.

So let’s take this as a win, keep the good stuff coming, and keep on recycling.

05/19/2026

Making good on our promise of reaching 10K followers and revealing the name of our "spokesanimal", his name...See More

05/18/2026

Could this be the night?

Man… we are sooooo close to 10,000 followers I can taste it.

So, if you’re currently on the outside looking in, do us a solid and hit that Follow button. Help push this little circus we call Solid Waste across the finish line.

And remember, tonight might be one of those Kansas nights…

The kind where you keep the 3 Ts handy:

Teeth. Tennis shoes. Trousers.

Secure your wheelie bins. Charge your phone. Stay weather-aware.

And remember what your momma said: if you’re gonna end up on the evening news, at least make sure you’re wearing clean clothes. (or something like that)🙃

Shawnee County Solid Waste

06/01/2026

05/29/2026

05/28/2026

05/25/2026

05/22/2026

05/21/2026

05/20/2026

05/19/2026

05/18/2026

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Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm