WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — A West Des Moines resident is hoping her yard display will encourage the city and community to update the city’s recycling restrictions.

Natasha Kennedy says she tries to do her part; she recycles and avoids plastic when she can, but a little over a year ago, she made a discovery.

“I was getting Starbucks and taking it to school, and then other people were also getting in Starbucks. And I’m like, don’t throw your cup away. I’ll take it home and recycle it because I will take any recycling. I just want stuff to get recycled,” said Kennedy.

“And one of my coworkers was like, you can’t recycle that. I’m like, yes, you can, and she was like, No, you can’t. And so I looked online, and you cannot.”

After some research, Kennedy discovered that some items are more difficult to recycle than others, so cities will opt them out of recycling.

“I was like, why is West Des Moines not recycling everything? Well, I have learned since then that it’s not unusual for everyone to recycle their stuff, but the city just doesn’t take everything,” said Kennedy. “So, people just aren’t aware that it’s not getting recycled.”

Over the last year, Kennedy’s family of three collected a lanyard of plastics not accepted, including berry containers, coffee cups, take-out containers, and more. Last week, she staked the lanyard in her front yard and posted signs about the recycling issue.

“I am hopeful that people will realize that they’re not able to recycle stuff they think they can,” said Kennedy. “I’m hopeful that the city will try and figure things out and be like, okay, we can recycle it or, you know, maybe just get the message out that, you know, try not to use plastics as much, if you can.”

Kennedy received a notice from the City of West Des Moines on Thursday that the display had to be taken down, but after rearranging the display, Kennedy says it’s within city rules. Located in the 500 block of Valley West Drive, Kennedy says the display will be up for a few more weeks.

To learn more about recycling in West Des Moines, visit the Metro Waste Authority website.