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Lawrence residents can recycle everything from batteries to their lawn clippings.

Lawrence recycles 30 percent of its waste. That's the highest rate in Kansas.

"I think Lawrence residents tend to be green in their thinking," said Mollie Mangerich, the operations supervisor for the city's division of waste reduction and recycling.

"Being green" means trying to reduce waste.

"Reduce your waste first," she said. "Reuse whenever possible, then recycle whatever is left."

The city recycling program has targeted material that take up a significant amounts of landfill space, such as newspapers, grass clippings and leaves. That's not to say that residents can't recycle almost everything from old tires to plastic bottles with a little more effort.

Lawrence residents aren't the only ones recycling. Kansas University students have gotten in on the act. The KU Office of Resource Conservation and Recycling is basking in the success of a program that started last year.

The office put 50 multi-purpose recycling bins in buildings around campus. It collected 200 tons of plastic, aluminum, cardboard and paper.

"We had such a great reception to them and people used them so well, we want to put them in buildings that don't have them," said Victoria Silva, program administer. The office wants to add 50 bins.

Here's a rundown of recycling services in Lawrence:

Recycling

• Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off, 8 a.m. to noon on the third Saturday of each month from April through October, 711 E. 23rd. Call 832-3030 for materials accepted.
• Used motor oil: city garage, 1141 Haskell Ave., 832-3020; Wal-Mart Auto Center, 3300 Iowa, 832-8655; Northside Truck Repair, 1245 N. Third, 843-7078; Jiffy Lube, 914 W. 23rd, 749-1599; O'Reilly Auto Parts, 1008 W. 23rd, 842-9800, and 906 N. Second, 832-0408; and Eastside Auto & Tire, 716 E. Ninth, 841-4550.
• Antifreeze drop-off: Jiffy Lube, 914 W. 23rd, 749-1599.
• Lead acid battery drop-off: Lawrence Battery Co., 903 N. Second, 842-2922; Wal-Mart Auto Center, 3300 Iowa, 832-8655; and Lonnie's Recycling, 501 Maple, 841-4855; Advance Auto Parts, 2535 S. Iowa, 749-2941, and 1501 W. Sixth, 841-5559.
• Metals buy-back: Lonnie's Recycling, 501 Maple, 841-4855.

Recycling centers

• Wal-Mart Community Recycling Center, 3300 Iowa. Outside, it accepts aluminum cans and foil; steel ("tin") cans; corrugated cardboard; mixed paper; glass (clear, brown, amber, blue or green) containers; plastic containers (HDPE No. 2 and PET No. 1); white office paper; newspaper; catalogs and magazines; and six-pack plastic rings. Inside the store, the photo lab will take film canisters; the service desk will take Ni-Cad batteries; checkers will take six-pack plastic rings and plastic Wal-Mart bags; the jewelry counter will take button batteries and the auto center will take tires, for 50 cents each.
• Newspaper drop-off sites. Boxes are marked for "Newspaper Recycling," which means no plastic bags. Locations: Alvin's IGA, Ninth and Iowa streets; Wal-Mart Community Recycling Center, 3300 Iowa; Westridge Shopping Center, Sixth Street and Kasold Drive; Lonnie's Recycling, 501 Maple; and Checkers, 2300 La.
• Cardboard buy-back: Lawrence Paper Co., 2801 Lakeview, 865-4543.

Reuse

• Clothing and furniture: Salvation Army Thrift Store, 1818 Mass., 749-4208; Penn House, 1035 Pa., 842-0440; Disabled American Veterans Thrift Store, 1601 W. 23rd, 749-4900; Plymouth Thrift Shop, 945 Vt., 842-1408, (clothing only); Social Service League Store, 905 R.I., 843-5414; St. John's Rummage House, 1246 Ky., 843-0109.
• Polystyrene peanuts: Express Pack & Mail, 838 Mass., 842-3413; Redfield's Stained Glass Studio, 13 E. Seventh, 843-4039; The Mail Box, 3115 W. Sixth, 749-4304; Mail Boxes Etc., 3514 Clinton Pkwy., 865-0004; Package USA, 811 E. 23rd, 843-6245.

Curbside recycling

• Eco-Services, P.O. Box 625, 841-1615.

City of Lawrence services

• Special pickups for bulky items, such as refrigerators, washers, dryers and couches. This service by appointment only.
• Special pickups for automobile tires limited to five tires per household per year. This service by appointment only.
• Grass clipping and leaves collected at curbside -- or wherever residential trash normally is collected -- each Monday, March through November.
• Woody debris may be dropped off each Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 11th Street and Haskell Avenue.

For more information about city services, call 832-3022.

-- Felicia Haynes' phone message number is 832-7173. Her e-mail address is fhaynes@ljworld.com.

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