Kansas City's Trash Volume is Up 20% from 2019

The numbers are in: Kansas City residents discarded 25,725 tons of waste from May to July, a year-over-year increase of 5,000 tons. Add Kansas City to the list of places where the COVID-19 pandemic is creating big changes in the trash mix.

Sustainability is still discussed in the city, but it's difficult when reusable cups and containers aren't in the cards because of the novel coronavirus. Restaurants are finding creative alternatives to reusables such as offering to-go drinks in glass containers with a deposit. Still, this proves to be an issue as customers don't return the jars as fast as anticipated, "so the jar supply has gotten 'down to the wire' a few times."

Self-styled “Zero Waste Nerd” Megean Weldon suggests that people resist giving in to “trash creep” during the pandemic by focusing on areas they can control, such as managing overall consumption and reducing food waste.

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