Resources

The Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority (KCSWA) is devoted to making recycling a regular practice for all county residents by increasing awareness, improving education and creating opportunity. We create outreach campaigns, visit classrooms and community centers, maintain this online resource center, foster community and municipal partnerships and more to achieve these goals. Contact us with your questions about reducing, reusing and recycling.

A selection of materials we have developed as part of our education and outreach campaigns:

• RecycleSmart Brochure
• Ideas for Getting Started with Reducing and Reusing
• Options for Recycling for Rural Residents without Access to Curbside Pickup
• Reasons to Recycle
• Getting Started with Donating, Reusing and Composting

We are the primary recycling resource for our county, but there many important local, statewide and national organizations and entities that are dedicated to reducing waste. For more on the services available in your area, please see the information below.

State Agencies and Recycling Resources

The State of West Virginia has many different agencies and organizations that deal with recycling directly. There is a wealth of knowledge available to keep you up to date on recycling locations and events in the state.

Documents

• WV Department of Environmental Protection - 2022 Recycling Directory
• WV Department of Environmental Protection - Guide to Illegal Dumping

Websites

WV Department of Environmental Protection Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (DEP-REAP): The Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan strives to clean up West Virginia and rid the state of unsightly litter. The REAP- The Next Generation initiative harbors all of the state cleanup programs within the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. REAP is a powerful force in the campaign against illegal dumping and littering.

Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB): The SWMB is the coordinator between the Solid Waste Authorities (SWAs) and other state agencies in the area of solid waste management.

Recycling Coalition of West Virginia: The Recycling Coalition of West Virginia is a nonprofit environmental organization whose mission is to promote the effective and sustainable reduction, reuse and recycling of materials otherwise destined for disposal. The coalition pursues these goals by promoting the purchasing of products made with recycled content material, coordinating and facilitating activities relative to recycling, and fostering communications among organizations, government agencies and individuals.

WV Recycling Directory: The West Virginia Recycling Directory program provides the public and private sectors with information on retail and end-use recycling markets in West Virginia. They conduct an annual survey of the retail, community and end-use recycling markets, and the results are compiled in both print and online editions of the West Virginia Materials Recycling Directory.

E-Waste West Virginia: This website was created by the West Virginia Solid Waste Management Board to provide the people of  West Virginia and the state's solid waste managers with the information they need to facilitate the environmentally sound management of end-of-life electronics and to comply with W. Va. Code §22-15A-22(e)

National Recycling Resources

There are too many national recycling resources to list them all, but below you will find some of the most successful and innovative in the country. Each one has their own unique mission, and together they work to keep unnecessary materials out of the waste stream and landfills.

Documents

• Keep America Beautiful - Recycling at Work Guide
• EPA - Composting Overview
• EPA - Donating and Recycling Cell Phones

Websites

Earth 911: Earth911 gathers, distributes and analyzes localized recycling information to assist manufacturers, organizations and consumers with product end-of-life solutions. Through the Earth911 Recycling Directory, Earth911 hosts the largest and most accurate compilation of recycling information in the nation, boasting more than 1 million ways to recycle. Earth 911 also posts original content and articles from a variety of experts.

Free Cycle: The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 5,110 groups with 5,247,494 members around the world. It's a grassroots, entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.

Call 2 Recycle: Call2Recycle is a free collection program for mobile phones and rechargeable batteries. It operates through a network of 30,000 drop-off locations, such as hospitals, universities, retailers, public institutions and communities in Canada and the United States. All collected materials are completely recycled in facilities in North America. Mobile phones are refurbished and resold, when possible.

Keep America Beautiful: Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With a network of more than 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations, including state recycling organizations, the organization work with millions of volunteers to take action in their communities through programs that deliver sustainable impact.

TerraCycle: TerraCycle is a highly-awarded, international upcycling and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and repurposes the material into affordable, innovative products. TerraCycle works with more than 100 major brands in the U.S. and 22 countries overseas to collect used packaging and products that would otherwise be destined for landfills. It repurposes that waste into new, innovative materials and products that are available online and through major retailers.