Recycling in McKinney: What’s Next

The City of McKinney has received a grant from The Recycling Partnership to better understand local recycling patterns and educate our community on recycling right. Through this effort, we are analyzing our recycling stream and gathering resident feedback via focus groups and a community survey on recycling habits, values, and messaging. These insights will guide strategies to support McKinney’s Sustainability Roadmap, with the goal of increasing participation and diversion while reducing recycling contamination from 41–49% to 20–25% within five years.

Phases

Phases overview

Phase 1: Solid Waste Strategy - 20 Year Vision

Solid Waste Strategy - 20 Year Vision

Phase 2: Solid Waste Strategy Implementation

Solid Waste Strategy Implementation

Phase 3: Materials Management Program Improvements

Materials Management Program Improvements

February 1, 2025 6:00 AM - No end date

During this phase, the City works toward its materials management goals listed in the Sustainability Roadmap. These goals include increasing recycling participation, keeping more recyclable materials out of the landfill, and reducing contamination in the recycling stream.

Project 1 - Commercial and Multi-Family Recycling Study: A key step towards this goal is the Commercial and Multi-Family Recycling Study, which will identify opportunities to expand recycling and waste diversion. Businesses and multi-family properties were invited to complete a short survey and participate in focus groups to share their needs and insights.

Focus groups and surveys completed March-June 2026

Project 2 - Smart Recycling: The City of McKinney has received a second grant from The Recycling Partnership to better understand local recycling patterns and educate our community on recycling right. Through this effort, we are analyzing our recycling stream using grant-funded smart technology and gathering resident feedback via focus groups and a community survey on recycling habits, values, and messaging. These insights, along with the Commercial and Multi-Family Recycling Study, will guide strategies to support McKinney’s Sustainability Roadmap, with the goal of increasing participation and diversion while reducing recycling contamination from 41–49% to 20–25% within five years.

Residential focus groups and surveys completed | Feb-April 2026
Educational campaign materials, including recycling tip mailers, sent to residents | Aug-Oct 2026
Capture rate study conducted to assess the effectiveness of the educational campaign | Nov 2026