[OKRA] Recycling news from Tulsa, Oklahoma

[Ellen Bussert]

[image: image.png]
*Way to go City of Tulsa, Oklahoma for providing the opportunity for
citizens to recycle!  Be sure and click on the link below to see the news
report.*
Tulsans recycled millions of pounds of waste in 2023, city says
[image: image.png]     Click
<https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/tulsa-touts-recycling-efforts-on-global-recycling-day#>
to hear the report from Brodie Myers Channel 2
<https://www.kjrh.com/brodie-myers>
By: Brodie Myers <https://www.kjrh.com/brodie-myers>
Posted at 9:34 PM, Mar 18, 2024

and last updated 8:24 PM, Mar 20, 2024

TULSA, Okla. — While cities across the United States have halted recycling
programs, the city of Tulsa is ramping up its program. The city touted
efforts and numbers on Global Recycling Day.

"I think it’s really easy to think, we’re here sitting in this giant
bubble, and what I do doesn’t necessarily affect anybody else and what they
do," Morgan Fehrle with the Sustainability Alliance said.

Something as simple as throwing away a bottle of water can have
implications. It may be just one, but it adds to mountainous landfills.
According to the City of Tulsa, those landfills could shrink, as 80% of
household waste is recyclable.

"Sustainability is all about being intentional. It’s not about being
perfect," Fehrle said, "So you don’t have to do everything right all the
time, but you’re gonna get better at it the more you’re thinking through
your process."

The Sustainability Alliance developed an app
<https://www.thesustainabilityalliance.org/terrascore> to help people keep
a "TerraScore" of their actions.

More than 400,000 people call Tulsa home, and between them, a lot of stuff
gets thrown away. As for where it goes, Mayor GT Bynum offered some
surprising numbers.

"Right now, 95% of everything Tulsans throw away at their homes is either
recycled or converted to electricity," Bynum said during his State of the
City address. "We are one of the greenest cities in America when it comes
to household solid waste disposal."

The City of Tulsa said 112,000 households recycle, adding up to millions
pounds worth of items in 2023.

"What that says to me is the city of Tulsa is definitely prioritizing
recycling as something that they are offering to reduce waste," Fehrle said.

Municipalities pay a price for recycling programs. In fact, cities across
the country have stopped them altogether due to financial losses. Tulsa is
upping the ante.

"This year, we negotiated a 15-year contract with our trash-to-energy plant
that will keep us in this leadership position," Bynum said.

The City of Tulsa has a website dedicated to recycling at tulsarecycles.com
<https://tulsarefuse.org/>
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