Contract teams City with local scouting group for service
The City will team up with a local scouting group to provide recycling services to Bartlesville residents thanks to a vote of the City Council on Tuesday.
The City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve an agreement between the City and the Cherokee Area Council No. 469 – Scouting America. The agreement will allow the CAC’s current recycling location at 520 S. Quapaw to be expanded to serve as a 24/7 drop-off site, with satellite collection locations potentially established as needed.
Items that will be accepted at the site are:
- Plastics
- Aluminum
- Cardboard
- Glass (COMING SOON)
Plastics, aluminum and cardboard are currently accepted at the site. The City will facilitate improvements to the site as soon as possible so that glass can be accepted as well.
Per the agreement, the City will provide $20,000 in financial support, distributed in quarterly installments of $5,000, to help sustain the service and support expansion of current services. In addition to financial support, the City will make infrastructure and promotional investments to help ensure the program can grow and serve residents effectively by providing the following resources:
- Drive and parking improvements at 1128 S.E. Adams Boulevard to accommodate glass collection, as well as nearby alley improvements
- Apply for grants on behalf of the recycling service
- Provide directional signage at the collection site(s)
- Promote and provide information about the service as needed through the City’s free, digital newsletter, City Beat, website, and social media platforms
- Request additional lighting in the area from PSO
“This is an exciting opportunity for the City to work with the Cherokee Area Council No. 469 to expand recycling options for our residents,” said Interim City Manager Laura Sanders. “We are grateful to the Scouts for their willingness to collaborate with us on this important community service. By working together, we can build on the recycling resources currently available and provide residents with more convenient options. We look forward to getting this new venture underway and seeing this partnership work to the benefit of our residents.”
The partnership comes following the closure of the City’s recycling center earlier this year after the third-party vendor providing recycling services to Bartlesville, Replenysh, terminated its agreement with the City. With the former recycling center no longer operating, the City began exploring alternatives for maintaining and expanding recycling opportunities locally, ultimately reaching the proposed agreement with the CAC. The former recycling center site is closed and will likely be repurposed for another use.
The agreement will remain in effect for one year. The parties will have the opportunity to evaluate the service during that period and consider potential future expansion.