Dorri Partain
Managing Editor

With trucks and trailers loaded with brush and yard waste bags collected during spring yard work, residents ready to dispose of their leaves and branches have faced recent surprises with the closure of Missouri Organics site at 1815 N. Chouteau Trafficway.

A vinyl banner at the entrance was posted a few weeks ago, directing users to other sites at

7740 E. 40 Highway or 11600 N. Main, along with a QR Code with directions.

Missouri Organics, a landscaping company that provides mulch and soil and other landscaping/gardening products, has contracted with the City of Kansas City for multiple years to provide free brush drop off locations across the metro area on Saturdays. The site on Chouteau Trafficway was the closest location for most Northeast residents and those living north of the river.

The City’s informational webpage (kcmo.gov) still lists the Chouteau site as open and accessible on Saturdays to those that show proof of residency.

On Monday, March 23, The Northeast News spoke with Missouri Organics’ Sales and Marketing Director, who stated that as a private company, they used every means available to them to notify residents but were not responsible for information posted to the City’s website.

The opening page at missouriorganics.com states that the Chouteau Trafficway site is permanently closed.

Missouri Organics has been located at their 40 Highway site for several years but it was not a site that offered free drop off to residents until this closure of the Chouteau site, the spokesman for Missouri Organics said.

A visit to the Chouteau drop off site on Saturday, March 21, revealed that numerous residents, surprised at the closure and lack of notification, had dropped off their refuse anyway, lining the entrance with piles of brush and yard bags.

The Missouri Organics spokesman stated that the City is now responsible for cleaning up that site and that cameras were being- or have already- installed to record dumping activity.