[OKRA] Legislative Action Alert!!!!

[EllenBussert at aol.com]

Dear  OKRA Members and Friends, 
 
Our long-awaited bill to set  a voluntary recycling goal for Oklahoma is 
coming up in the Oklahoma House  Sub-Committee of Environment and Wildlife this 
coming Monday, February  18.  If you are from the area represented by any of the 
 following people or know any of them personally, please email or call them 
this  week-end and ask them to Vote YES in the Committee. We  need this bill to 
be passed so we will have a vehicle through which to collect  the recycling 
data in Oklahoma and find out what our percentage of materials  recycled really 
is. We are one of only two states that has no recycling  goal.  The authors 
are Sen Susan Paddack (Ada) and Rep. Wes Hillard   (Sulphur). 
Your help is need to get  this bill over the first hurdle. Last year it 
passed the Senate, but was never  heard in the House Committee. If it passes out of 
the sub-committee, we will  likely be calling upon you for assistance with 
future votes. You are also  invited to attend the sub-commitee meeting Monday at 
10:30a.m in Room 412-A at  the Capitol. 
Talking points for the bill  are listed below. Thanks so much for taking time 
to  help!     
Sub-committee members  include (home phone/Capitol phone/email): 
 
    *   Chair:  Rep. Phil Richardson (Minco Dist 56)        405-352-4840     
405-557-7401    _philrichardon at okhouse.gov_ (mailto:philrichardon at okhouse.gov) 
 
    *   Vice-Chair: Rep. Glen Bud  Smithson (Sallisaw Dist. 2)   918-775-0367 
    405-557-7315    _glensmithson at okhouse.gov_ 
(mailto:glensmithson at okhouse.gov) 
 
    *   Rep. Dennis Adkins (Tulsa Dist.  75)                 918-355-4439     
405-557-7356    _dennisadkins at okhouse.gov_ (mailto:dennisadkins at okhouse.gov) 
 
    *   Rep. Brian Renegar (McAlester  Dist. 17)            918-426-0113     
405-557-7381    _brian.renegar at okhouse.gov_ (mailto:brian.renegar at okhouse.gov) 
 
    *   Rep. Colby Schwartz (Yukon Dist.  43)               405-354-0555     
405-557-7352    _colby.schwartz at okhouse.gov_ 
(mailto:colby.schwartz at okhouse.gov) 
 
    *   Rep. Daniel Sullivan (Tulsa Dist.  71)               918-745-5848     
405-557-7361    _danielsullivan at okhouse.gov_ 
(mailto:danielsullivan at okhouse.gov) 
 
    *   Rep. Mike Thompson (OKC Dist.  100)                 405-603-3706     
405-557-7403    _mikethompson at okhouse.gov_ (mailto:mikethompson at okhouse.gov) 
 
    *   Rep. Dale Turner (Holdenville  Dist. 24)            405-379-6762     
405-557-7306    _daleturner at okhouse.gov_ (mailto:daleturner at okhouse.gov) 


Ask them to please vote YES on SB  498 
The purpose of this bill is to  cultivate recycling efforts across the state 
to form networks among the people,  communities and businesses who collect 
recyclables to the Oklahoma Industries  who need these items for feedstock in 
their manufacturing processes.   Setting a voluntary state goal to recycle 10% of 
all the municipal waste  collected in Oklahoma by 2009 will help raise 
awareness of recycling and  increase the supply and demand which will assist in 
decreasing the gap between  collection and industrial use.   
 
    *   This is a  goal, not a mandate.
 
    *   Oklahoma is one of only two states  that do not have a recycling goal.
 
    *   This bill has the support of the  Oklahoma Department of 
Environmental Quality and the Oklahoma Recycling  Association.
 
    *   There are 16 large industries in  Oklahoma who are “end users” of 
materials that Oklahomans recycle. According  to a study done by OSU and the 
M.e.t. in Tulsa, these 16 manufacturers have  a 200 million dollar impact on 
Oklahoma’s economy and are responsible for  over 5,500 jobs.
 
    *   42 of 56 of Oklahoma’s largest  communities have some type of 
recycling.
 
    *   42 out of 77 counties have some type  of public collection program 
for recyclables
 
    *   Since 1994, over 100 schools have won  the Weyerhaeuser “Excellence 
in Recycling” Award program to start-up or  expand recycling programs for their 
schools.
 
    *   There are more than 34 different  types of items collected across the 
state such as aluminum beverage  containers (pop cans), antifreeze, aluminum, 
auto parts, auto radiators,  battery, brown paper bags, brass, foam pad, 
computer printout paper, copper,  clothes and shoes, e-waste fishing line, glass, 
hardback books, mercury,  metal, corrugated cardboard, office paper, 
magazines, newspaper, lead,  plastic, steel, stainless steel, telephone books, tin 
cans, toner  cartridges, motor oil, wood chips, wood, white goods (metal 
appliances  regardless of color) electronics and yard waste 
 
    *   The paper collected at the State  Capitol is important to the 
Oklahoma companies who make paper towels,  napkins and other paper products.






**************The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy 
Awards. Go to AOL Music.      
(http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.recycleok.org/pipermail/okrecycles-recycleok.org/attachments/20080215/db698ac3/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: ole0.bmp
Type: image/unknown
Size: 57386 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.recycleok.org/pipermail/okrecycles-recycleok.org/attachments/20080215/db698ac3/attachment.bin>