The Search Continues

The Search Continues

By: Matthew Wall

A couple of weeks ago in my Public Relations Campaigns class my group, JEWN Communications, were assigned the task of developing and conducting a full scale PR campaign for the city of Norman. Our mission: to raise awareness, participation, and communication to the residents of Norman about the newly voted approval of a curbside recycling program.

Along with raising awareness about the new curbside program our group was also concerned about Norman’s older recycling effort: the drive-by recycling centers. For some time now Norman has operated three of these drive-by recycling centers. But since Labor Day only one center remains. That center is located in the Hollywood Shopping Center on McGee Drive and Lindsey Street. The other two centers were located on the eastside of Norman and middle of historic downtown. The eastside center, which was located in a shopping center parking lot on 12th and Lindsey Street, was closed due to new ownership. The third center was located in a parking lot on 24th and Main Street and is the center that closed after Labor Day weekend.

In the wake of these closings and waiting the start of the curbside program on March 1, 2008, Norman residents are left with the inconvenience of traveling across town to drop off their recyclables. However, Norman officials have been searching diligently for a place to relocate the eastside center. On August 31, The Norman Transcript posted their two cents on where the eastside center should go saying, “We’d suggest the bins be relocated to the southeast corner of Griffin Park at 12th Avenue NE and Robinson Street. Those large parking lots sit idle for most of the week, especially now that baseball and softball seasons are over. Or, the city ought to find money to pay for some space. If the eastside recycling site brought in 617 tons of recycled material and saved that much landfill space, it seems reasonable to us that the city ought to find some of those savings and pay for the sites. When curbside recycling starts next spring, the city is asking citizens to pay to be green. Shouldn't we expect the same level of commitment from the city?”

Norman Director of Utilities Ken Kominske was interviewed by The Oklahoma Daily on September 21, 2007 and assured OU Students and residents of Norman that the city was busy looking for new locations and negotiating with some. In regards to the westside center Kominske said, “One possible [new] location is the Sooner Mall,” he also stated, “They want to promote a ‘go green’ attitude.” However, there was no mention on where the relocation of the eastside center would be.