View Full Version : Recycling...



ILoveCatsMore
07-03-2008, 11:34 AM
I live in an apartment complex so I don't have access to curb side recycling. I was wondering if anyone knew of a drop off site in either north OKC or Edmond.

metro
07-03-2008, 02:54 PM
I drop my newspapers off at a local school. Many local schools and churches have the green/yellow dumpsters and take newspapers and other paper as a fundraiser. Still trying to figure out how to get rid of plastic and glass. I take my plastic bags to WalMart as they have a green recycle bin at the front doors and customer service. I try and use my cloth bags when shopping. Living downtown (even though a property owner) is hard to recycle thanks to our city not taking recycling seriously.

OKCMallen
07-03-2008, 03:18 PM
I drop my newspapers off at a local school. Many local schools and churches have the green/yellow dumpsters and take newspapers and other paper as a fundraiser. Still trying to figure out how to get rid of plastic and glass. I take my plastic bags to WalMart as they have a green recycle bin at the front doors and customer service. I try and use my cloth bags when shopping. Living downtown (even though a property owner) is hard to recycle thanks to our city not taking recycling seriously.

Um, the city provides me with a curbside recycle service. Are they supposed to come into your hosue and sort it?

bornhere
07-03-2008, 04:17 PM
Metro, this is most of what Oklahoma City residents need to know about curbside recycling. (http://www.okc.gov/trash/recycle/index.html)

Even if you've already seen it, maybe it will benefit someone else.

westsidesooner
09-21-2008, 10:47 AM
I was glad to find this thread already here, I've been debating whether or not to start one.

I've been thinking about recycling recently and trying to do as much as I can. Bethany doesn't have a reycling program which makes it a little difficult, but not impossible. I take my newspapers to the local church, my plastic, aluminum and cardboard I usually take to the recycling facility on south penn. Kinda sad in this day and age that there are still cities and towns that don't provide programs. I'm sure alot of citizens of those communities would recycle but don't since its not a service provided for them. What other suburbs don't have recycling programs?

Another thing that really caught my attention lately, especially at the football games in Norman, and the fair in OKC was the amount of aluminum bottles and cans being thrown in the trash. There must be tens of thousands of beer bottles thrown in the trash at every OU game.

Yesterday we went to the fair and it was the same situation. Every trash can was overflowing with beer bottles. I had a couple, and couldn't find an aluminum recycle bin. I even asked the woman at the beer stand if she could take back my empty bottle, she did; and threw it in the trash behind her. Not a lot of progress there. With probably well over 100,000 people at the fair yesterday the pottential for wasted aluminum is staggering.

In both those situations (Norman and the fair) it would have been nice to have recycling bins set up. Sadly, even in my most opptimistic vision of that, someone would be an ass and throw trash into the bin. In which case I'd like to see undercover police stake said bins out and ticket violaters, then have them remove the trash from the bin and put it where it belongs. It might sound extreme but I think people would catch on pretty quick. And the ticket money could be used to pay for the officers time. We as a society should do alot more than we are. IMHO

Any thoughts, and anyone know of other suburbs that don't recycle?

jsibelius
09-21-2008, 12:11 PM
I live in an apartment complex so I don't have access to curb side recycling. I was wondering if anyone knew of a drop off site in either north OKC or Edmond.

I'm so glad people are falling all over themselves to help you with your question.

This website has the information you're looking for.

Recycling Collection | City of Edmond, Oklahoma (http://edmondok.com/utility/solidwaste/services/recycling)

FritterGirl
09-21-2008, 01:27 PM
There's a recycling center of sorts just off of Broadway and 3rd in Edmond. It's west of Broadway, just before you get to the train tracks.

HOT ROD
09-21-2008, 07:04 PM
ya, OKC needs to get better with recycling!

Not to mention the fact that it is good for the earth and environment, but it also makes good business sense. The city could create jobs with people sorting and collecting, and businesses could save by melting the aluminum and metals to create new products (which is way cheaper and uses less energy than starting from scratch/bauxite).

Imagine the numbers of additional lists OKC would make if it had a city-wide recycling push/effort for sustainability. Not only would that be progressive but it would put OKC into yet another great category!

Either the city needs to put recycling bins throughout the city and especially at the large venues (Ford Center, AT&T Brick, Cox, State Fair and Arena, OU, ...) OR the city needs to employ people to sort through the rubbish. Im not sure which method ist best - because you could argue that people have sense enough to sort themselves but I could argue that people still will be lazy and just trash it.

Hmm, maybe the sorting of rubbish could be done by inmates? That would be a huge contribution to society without resorting to inhumane treatment of the inmates. Honestly, I like this idea - it should be promoted nationwide! OKC should be at the forfront!

CCOKC
09-22-2008, 10:19 AM
When I was at the Ford Center picking out my seats I was pleasantly surprised that they did have a bin set up specifically for the water bottle they gave us.
Hopefully, this was not a one time thing.

t3h_wookiee
09-22-2008, 01:43 PM
Actually at OU football games there are recycling bins all over in the stadium. More than there were trash cans, and yet most were full. Good sign there, but they obviously need more, or t oat least empty the others more often.

AAC2005
09-23-2008, 06:57 AM
Just as an observation, when I lived in Maryland, the county I resided in was fanatical about recycling. I had no problem with it, because it was sooo easy to do and you could get as many bins as you needed (at my peak, I had four working full-time).

When we settled down in OKC, I was somewhat disappointed to see that there was only a sporadic recycling system in effect for the city, and I was annoyed when I was told that my section of town wasn't in the "recycling project area", or words of some sort, when I asked about getting a "Little Blue".

I'll get over it (LOL), but I'm very surprised that OKC does not participate more in recycling...kind of behind the times, if you ask me.

jsibelius
09-23-2008, 07:57 AM
Actually at OU football games there are recycling bins all over in the stadium. More than there were trash cans, and yet most were full. Good sign there, but they obviously need more, or t oat least empty the others more often.

Full of what, I wonder? The problem with public recycling is that a lot of people put a lot of inappropriate things into the bins. But, it's good to see them making a real effort. I was sad to see tons of water bottles and canned cokes at Taste of Edmond this year, but not a recycling bin to be found anywhere.

westsidesooner
09-23-2008, 08:29 AM
Actually at OU football games there are recycling bins all over in the stadium. More than there were trash cans, and yet most were full. Good sign there, but they obviously need more, or t oat least empty the others more often.

I noticed several recycling bins on campus as well, especially just outside the stadium and along Asp north of the stadium. Where they really needed them was at campus corner. I'll try to survey the area better this weekend and see if there are any bins available.

stickboy
09-23-2008, 09:27 AM
What would be nice is if there was a parking lot with a recycling dropoff in OKC, similar to the one in front of the Salvation Army on Lindsey in Norman. For the most part, I have been happy with OKC's curbside pickup, until a few months ago. I used to put cardboard in there, not the bulky boxes but things like cereal boxes, and they were picked up no problem. Then all of a sudden I came home to find the entire contents of my recycle bin dumped into my trash can. I called the city and they explained to me it was the drivers choice if they take cardboard or not... and that they get paid based on weight. Then he went on to assure me that the driver on my route would pick up cardboard... but this happened twice since then, so now I just have it piling up in the garage.

I'm curious, is there a convenient drop off in OKC for cardboard recycling that is accessible after work hours?

CCOKC
09-23-2008, 05:42 PM
What part of town do you live in? I have found these in NW OKC. Be aware that most of these are just the regular WM receptacles that have a sign for cardboard on them. And they are usually with the main dumpsters and not with the paper, magazine, etc recycling bins.

Putman City, the original (go around back with dumpsters)
St. Charles Borromea Church/School (my church so I am plugging here).
This one is probably the most apparent as it is right out front by the ball diamonds. The church is located on 50th and Grove which is between Ann Arbor and MacArthur.
The middle school on 63rd between MacArthur and Ann Arbor. Sorry, I forget the name. The cardboard dumpster is also with the regular dumpsters.
I have personall used these but I have been told that Independence Middle School has one. It is on Independence north of 63rd. Also, the manager of the Thrift Store at the corner of 23rd and MacArthur told me he would take cardboard.

Also, when we moved offices we found we had 55 old phone books. The recycling dumpsters expressly say not to dump phone books in them. It would take forever to put them in the little blue so I found a dumpster in the southwest corner of the ATT building on 63rd just west of the Broadway Extension that is just for phone books.


On another note, I read in the Bethany Tribune that the city of Warr Acres had to close their recycling center because so many people put inappropriate materials in the bins and they could not afford the staff it took to sort the junk from the real recyclables. So people, remember that when recycling your stuff.

When I lived in Boise, ID I did not recycle because I had to sort my own stuff in brown paper sacks. Unfortunately, I could not find a grocery store that used brown paper sacks, so I only recycled my cans and threw the rest away. I was grateful for the recycling in OKC because I just throw everything together and the guys who pick it up recycle for me.

tburn
09-29-2008, 12:58 PM
NW 63rd & Western
(W. of Western, in the Parking lot E. of Mamasita's)
they have bins for newspaper, aluminum & glass (sorted by clear, green, brown)

westsidesooner
09-30-2008, 09:41 AM
With fall here I wanted to remind everyone of another great way to recycle. I live in an area with LOTS of mature Oak trees which drop LOTS of leaves every fall. We have over 20 trees in our yard alone. Several years ago I got sick of the waste involved with bagging the leaves and setting them out for the garbage men. Some years we had over 40 bags of leaves, which in itself cost money and added to the stress on the landfills. So we built a compost pile in our backyard and have composted all of our leaves and grass clippings ever since.

In the spring we spread the compost in the flowerbeds (which saves more money on nutrients) and in the yard before planting grass seed. Grass is practically an annual in our neighborhood because of all the shade. Anyways, the grass and the flowers couldn't be healthier. If you have the room (ours is about 8' by 16' divided into 2 sedctions) build a compost pile. Stop bagging your leaves. Paul James (Gardening by the Yard) has alot of useful info on his shows regarding composting Gardening by the Yard: Paul James shares gardening and landscaping ideas (http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_gby)

westsidesooner
02-05-2009, 01:18 PM
Anyone know what I should do with my old appliances (microwave, portable tv's)? I also have an old lawnmower and a broken leaf-blower. Do the dumps take these types of things? Or should I just set them by the curb for the junk divers to pick up. I'd really like to get all this old stuff out of my garage. Its amazing the sh#@ you collect and don't throw away.

BPD
02-05-2009, 01:29 PM
Check with the city to find the days for large item pickup for your area.

City of Oklahoma City | Bulky Waste Pickup (http://www.okc.gov/trash/bulky/index.html)

metro
02-06-2009, 11:22 AM
Check with the city to find the days for large item pickup for your area.

City of Oklahoma City | Bulky Waste Pickup (http://www.okc.gov/trash/bulky/index.html)

No way. Recycle what you can, I know sometimes the dumps break down things into recyclables, but sometimes they don't. Large appliances are a huge drain on our landfills and can leak harmful chemicals (freon, etc.). Call some of the junk yards or post it on craigslist. There are all types of people who pick up stuff like that and repair broken appliances or at least will strip them down for parts and take them to junk yards, etc.

westsidesooner
02-06-2009, 11:44 AM
Check with the city to find the days for large item pickup for your area.

City of Oklahoma City | Bulky Waste Pickup (http://www.okc.gov/trash/bulky/index.html)


No way. Recycle what you can, I know sometimes the dumps break down things into recyclables, but sometimes they don't. Large appliances are a huge drain on our landfills and can leak harmful chemicals (freon, etc.). Call some of the junk yards or post it on craigslist. There are all types of people who pick up stuff like that and repair broken appliances or at least will strip them down for parts and take them to junk yards, etc.

Thanks..........

I worked on the garage last night and came up with 1 push mower, 3 mower grass catchers, 2 leaf blowers and an electric trimmer, 1 microwave, 1 small portable tv, and a myriad of mower and trimmer attachments. Its all piled up out there over the years because I never know what to do with them. Last spring I took a mower to the repair shop and it would have cost more to repair it than buy a new one. So we left it there, I still have the ticket on the visor of my truck....its become a running joke around here. Seems like an incredible waste to take this stuff to the dump so I may set it out by the street ad hope someone thrifty can use them. I just hate the way it looks
on the street when people do that. If noone picks it up this weekend I'll figure something else out.

I haven't even gotten to the old paint section yet (sigh)

danielf1935
02-06-2009, 12:26 PM
If you put the items out for your "Big Trash" --"Bulky Waste" collection, they will more than likely be gone before the City comes by, there are several people that know when areas have collection days and pick up items to resale or scrap.
As for the paint, the City has a hazordous waste collection center at SW 15th & Portland, they are open weekdays and I think 1/2 day on Sat., they accept paint, anti-freeze, chemicals, waste oil, etc;, there's no charge, just show proof of OKC residence.

southernskye
02-06-2009, 03:08 PM
post an ad on freecycle