The Otoe-Missouria Tribe in northern Oklahoma plans to increase its recycling rate to 50% with the assistance of a $1.5 million EPA grant.
The Otoe-Missouria Tribe's environmental coordinator, Angela Heim, said this EPA grant is the first of its kind for her tribal nation. It will help recapture waste that usually goes into landfills, creating a better environment for those in the area.
“Having this recycling center would be to encourage and promote and create a cleaner, healthier, rural community because we are underserved,” Heim said.
She explained the funds would go toward a recycling center that will be built for all community members, including people living in surrounding areas such as Marland and White Eagle. This new center will supplement the recycling program currently in place, which currently has a recycling rate of 20%.
Heim said her tribe didn’t have a recycling program 20 years ago; however, since then, it has expanded to servicing recycling for all 21 departments located inside the tribal complex, allowing recycling for some plastics, paper, cardboard and aluminum.
“Over the last ten years, we started small,” Heim said. “Our department then broadened out to the other departments… Every two weeks we pick up recycling from the different departments here, and we have a lot of participation.”
Heim said the plan is for the new recycling center to be built and operating by the summer of 2025.
