Print edition: 
From plastics to cardboard to batteries and cell phones, the Pro Kansas Miller Reycling Center will take most anything Wichitans want to recycle.
Opened in 2004, the nonprofit has seen rapid growth over the years. In 2009, it collected about 1,200 tons of recyclables, more than double the amount it brought in five years earlier, said Roger Lyon, the operations manager.
However, limited funding serves as a major obstacle to further expansion. Shyla McFrederick, the center's marketing director, said the center would like to expand its hours of operation and launch a campaign to get more people recycling through the center, but it hasn't been able to raise enough money to do so.
The lone forklift in the warehouse is also in "desperate need" of replacement, McFrederick said, further complicating the center's financial situation.
Pro Kansas is open three days a week and, except for Lyon and one other paid staff member, it is kept running by about 150 volunteers. The operating budget is about $102,000 and most of the revenue comes from bundling and selling large amounts of recyclables, Lyon said.
The center is located in a warehouse in south Wichita at 725 E. Clark St. Giant bales of compressed recyclables line the walls waiting to be hauled off, and cardboard boxes throughout the warehouse serve as recycling receptacles.
Cars pull into parking spots inside the warehouse, where patrons unload and sort their recycling into the bins, a process Lyon estimated takes about 10 minutes.
Pro Kansas takes a wide variety of recyclable materials for free.
Like other recycling services in Wichita, Pro Kansas accepts most plastics, newspapers, cans and glass.
But Pro Kansas also takes less-common items such as printer cartridges, car batteries and plastic bags. The center also takes books and has a small library of recycled reads for people to borrow.
"That's our niche," Lyon said. "We accept more stuff than any other recycler."
The center is named after Paul and Margaret Miller, two Wichita recycling activists who volunteer at the center every day it is open.
"I grew up in the Depression where you saved everything," Margaret Miller said. "We grew up that way, and that's what we do now."
Lyon said he thinks there is strong demand for recycling services in the city and he estimates about 1,500 families recycle with Pro Kansas. However, he said the process has to be convenient if more people are going to become serious about recycling.
David Flory, of Haysville, has been recycling at Pro Kansas for about a year. Although he used to pay for his recycling to be picked up, he said recycling at the center is just as easy and helps him save money.
"Our dumps are filling up too fast," he said. "It's amazing how much you can cut down on trash if you just recycle.
The biggest area of growth for Pro Kansas recently has been in its commercial recycling operation. Lyon said more businesses are looking to cut costs and are using the center to recycle their materials for free instead of paying to have them hauled off to a landfill.
The center is hoping to form recycling partnerships with local businesses to trade recycling services and advertising at the warehouse for financial support, McFrederick said.
"We hope to become even more convenient and expand our hours of operation and eventually expand to have another location," she said.
