Lexington Recycling Center will not take Tuesday recyclables, city curbside loads headed to landfill

Lexington residents who normally use the city’s curbside recycling program will not be able to recycle on Tuesday after the Lexington Recycling Center announced it will not accept recyclables collected through the route that day. WKYT reported that materials picked up from Tuesday curbside routes will be sent to a landfill instead of processed for recycling.

According to the report dated June 23, the issue affects the timing of the recycling facility’s acceptance, not the household participation schedule itself. For residents whose recycling pickup is set for Tuesday, the city is asking them not to place their blue recycle carts out if possible to avoid generating waste that will be disposed of rather than recovered.

WKYT’s report indicates the center’s decision means that the normal pathway for recycling service is temporarily unavailable for Tuesday collections. In practical terms, the curbside program’s Tuesday pickup will still occur through the city collection system, but the recycled materials will not be received for recycling operations at the Lexington Recycling Center.

The change has an immediate operational impact on how the city’s collected materials are handled. When recycling is not accepted, the collected items that would otherwise be diverted from disposal end up being treated as landfill-bound waste, increasing disposal volume for that day’s route cycle.

Residents who planned for Tuesday curbside recycling are being asked to adjust their household waste setout plans. The request, as described by WKYT, is specifically to avoid putting out blue recycle carts if possible, reflecting the city’s aim to reduce unnecessary landfill disposal.

For neighborhoods and households that rely on the blue-cart system for weekly sorting, the notice creates a one-day disruption in routine. The next collections would be handled according to whatever acceptance schedule is in place after Tuesday, but WKYT’s report focused on the immediate Tuesday operating status at the Lexington Recycling Center.

The announcement underscores that curbside recycling outcomes depend on downstream acceptance by the processing facility. Even when residents follow the setout schedule, recycling depends on whether the facility is able and willing to take the materials being collected that day.