Tulsa Recycling Plant Educates On Proper Way To Recycle Take-Out Food Containers

A Tulsa recycling plant is educating residents on the proper way to recycle take-out containers.

Robert Pickens, Vice President of Recycling at American Waste Control in Tulsa, said many people do not realize that most take-out packaging is recyclable. To help clear up the confusion he said they partnered with the Foodservice Packaging Institute on a new campaign. 

Straws, Styrofoam, sandwich bags, sauce cups and cutlery cannot be recycled, so residents should put those in the trash.

Some items that can be recycled are pizza, French fry and sandwich boxes, unused napkins, the paper bags that the food comes in, and paper and plastic cups, including the lids.

Pickens said overall they are looking for clean material, so you should empty food and liquids from the containers before placing in the recycle bin. "Tulsans do a great job at recycling overall so we want to take advantage of that and be able to decrease the amount of reusable items that go to a landfill or go for incineration," he added.

Tulsa's American Waste Control processes 53,000 pounds of recyclables every hour, which Pickens said is a key part of the state's economy.

"Oklahoma has a very rich manufacturing sector that uses recyclables to produce packaging or product that go back in that packaging, so overall we want to be able to support the Oklahoma economy and Oklahoma jobs," he said.

To learn more and see a list of acceptable curbside recyclables visit https://feedmrmurph.com/whats-recyclable/.