Lake Region Solid Waste Authority
Serving Anderson, Coffey, Franklin, Linn, Miami, Osage, and Shawnee Counties
In the early 1990s, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) introduced strict regulations for sanitary landfills. They asked the individual States to enforce these new requirements, and the State of Kansas passed the responsibility down to the various counties.
At that time, most counties had county-operated sanitary landfills, that simply could not meet the new, tougher compliance regulations. Therefore, the State of Kansas, through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), asked each county to draft and submit a plan for how they would address these new requirements and plans for managing their solid waste. Under this planning program, counties were allowed to make regional compacts, or Solid Waste Authorities, to share the intense, detailed work of writing a solid waste management plan.
In 1995, six East-Central Kansas counties - Anderson, Coffey, Franklin, Linn, Miami and Osage - agreed to form a Solid Waste Authority for joint planning; giving it the name Lake Region Solid Waste Authority (LRSWA). In 2024, the Authority expanded to include a seventh member - Shawnee County.
The governing document is called an Interlocal Agreement, which was approved and signed by the commissioners in each of the counties, and then sent to the Kansas Attorney General for final approval. The document has been updated as the LRSWA has grown to meet the changing needs of its members, but the original focus and goals remain the same.
The LRSWA is governed by a Board of Directors made up of two voting members from each county. The day-to-day operations are overseen by the Regional Coordinator, a part-time staff position. The operating budget comes from "dues" or assessments paid by each county. The budget is adopted annually by the LRSWA Board of Directors and then sent on to each county Board of Commissioners for final approval.
Some of our old solid waste problems remain, but new and innovative solutions are always being explored and becoming available. Recycling Centers and Household Hazardous Waste Collection remain the key programs offered by the counties within the Lake Region, however we continue to look for new opportunities to reduce the amount of waste going to transfer stations and landfills. In the future, member counties are working towards offering more re-use opportunities such as community composting.
The Lake Region Solid Waste Management Plan is the document that describes how the seven member counties manage their solid waste issues.
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The Plan is only a reference guide.
The county commissioners are the final authority in solid waste management decisions for their individual county.
By state law, the Plan is reviewed and approved annually by the LRSWA Board and the County Commissioners before being submitted and filed with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Bureau of Waste Management.
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Every 5 years an update of the Plan, including waste volumes and goal setting, is performed.
Solid Waste Management Plan
About Us
LRSWA is governed by a Board of Directors, made up of two voting members from each of the seven county. The Board's goals and activities are implemented and supported by the Solid Waste Management Committee.
LRSWA offers materials and links to resources related to various environmental topics, including landfills, recycling, household hazardous waste, and composting.
A program that helps provide bikes for children and adults throughout some of the Lake Region countries