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Kansas City, let’s talk trash. What are your biggest questions about waste, litter here?

When Chris Lowrance moved to Kansas City’s Historic Northeast years ago, he was struck by the beauty of Kessler Park, calling it an “oasis.”

Even so, he didn’t want to bring his then 5-year-old son to the park. There was just too much litter.

“I just decided it was time to do something about it,” he said. “I think a lot of people have that experience of being so frustrated with the condition of something, that leads them to get increasingly involved.”

He started by carrying a trash bag when he went for walks. And now, each Sunday morning, he puts on his work pants and gloves and does a familiar back and forth: plunging into the woods of Kessler Park off of Gladstone Boulevard and emerging with arms full of litter.

He separates out the glass into special bags that he brings to a Ripple Glass dumpster, and he leaves tires, pieces of furniture and piles of big black bags of trash along the curb, where KC Parks workers later pick them up.

Lowrance is not the only Kansas Citian who cares about trash and the way it affects our lives, and he’s not the only one who has taken action to try to make our community more beautiful.

If you, like Lowrance, care about trash in the Kansas City metro and have questions or experiences to share, The Star wants to hear from you for a future series of stories. You can fill out the form at the bottom of this page.

Maybe you’re like Katie Mahoney, who grew up in Lee’s Summit, moved away for a few years and was struck by the amount of litter along our highways once she moved back. After seeking answers and assistance from Missouri’s department of transportation to no avail, Mahoney took it upon herself to regularly pick up litter on the off ramps near Interstate 435 and Wornall Road, where she lives. She also organized a group of Kansas Citians concerned about trash on NextDoor, where they post photos of bags of litter that they pick up.

Or maybe you’re like Forest Tyson, the vice president of Oak Park neighborhood association on Kansas City’s East Side, who has seen more and more illegal dumping on vacant lots and in alleyways near his home. He said he was so fed up by a lack of urgent response from the city that he worked with leaders in the surrounding neighborhoods to apply for a grant to clean up the streets.

Couches, mattresses and an assortment of trash were dumped in the 3200 block of East Sixth Street in a northeast Kansas City neighborhood.
Couches, mattresses and an assortment of trash were dumped in the 3200 block of East Sixth Street in a northeast Kansas City neighborhood.

HOW DOES TRASH AFFECT YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE KANSAS CITY METRO?

We pride ourselves on our parks and boulevards created during the “City Beautiful” movement (which has its own complicated history), and yet according to the city’s most recent resident survey, 7 out of 10 Kansas Citians aren’t satisfied with the cleanliness of streets and public areas.

We also know that trash can not only be frustrating, it also can be confusing.

Rules for how to put out your trash vary depending on where you live and what service collects your garbage. There are more rules about what and how to recycle. There are special dumpsters for glass, and special programs for bulky items. Different agencies are responsible for trash in neighborhoods, trash in parks and trash on the highways.

It’s a lot to keep track of.

Our team at The Star has been holding listening sessions with a few community groups around the metro who are working to address litter and dumping in their neighborhoods.

Now, we want to hear from readers in the form at the bottom of this story. Tell us about your biggest concerns and ideas for solutions about how to best address problems with trash.

Over the next couple months, The Star’s service journalism team will tell stories, share information and dig into some of the different ways that trash affects our lives in Kansas City.

We also plan to highlight solutions that are in the works — at the government level, as well as in neighborhoods, on blocks and in households all over the metro.

Keeping their neighborhood clean, Joe Vanover, and Keely Norris pick up trash while participating in the Greenhave Neighborhood Associations Adopt-A-Highway litter control project along Vivion Road in Kansas City, North.
Keeping their neighborhood clean, Joe Vanover, and Keely Norris pick up trash while participating in the Greenhave Neighborhood Associations Adopt-A-Highway litter control project along Vivion Road in Kansas City, North.

Tell us what we should write about

By using the form below, you may inspire or become a part of stories from The Star.

Or, if you just want to stay in the loop with these stories as we publish them, you can sign up to get updates.

Then this spring, after publishing our series based on your questions and concerns, The Star is going to work with community organizations to plan some community cleanup events.

If you are having trouble seeing or accessing the form, you can click this link, or email us at kcq@kcstar.com.