For Immediate Release: January 19, 2018
Contact:  Erin Hatfield, (405) 702-7119

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), in partnership with Keep Oklahoma Beautiful (KOB), will recognize the City of Norman as an Oklahoma Clean Community during the city council meeting scheduled for 6:30 pm on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.  The ceremony will be held in the council chambers at 201 W Gray in Norman, OK.

Norman promotes community environmental stewardship by involving volunteers, businesses, civic organizations, and civic leadership in various environmental projects, cleanups, and recycling events.

The City of Norman holds tire collection events to help deter illegal dumping of tires. Their transfer station collected nearly 11,000 tires for recycling purposes since 2010. As a KOB affiliate, Norman participates in KOB programs such as community improvement workshops, Environmental Excellence Awards, and the Great American Cleanup. In the 2017 Great American Cleanup, Norman, with the help of 271 volunteers, collected 400 pounds of litter. Norman held a city-wide household hazardous waste collection event, collecting close to 100,000 pounds of chemicals and 36,000 pounds of electronics. They also conducted four educator workshops.

The City of Norman plants flowers and trees, purchases sustainable products when possible, hosts an alternative transportation day, and cleans up litter and debris in an effort to provide a clean and safe environment for Norman residents.

As a result of their activities, Norman is cleaner and has reduced many risks to human health and the environment. The City of Norman is now an Oklahoma Clean Community.

DEQ and KOB recognize entities that participate in at least one tire collection event annually, the Great American Cleanup and other environmental service projects. DEQ encourages entities to coordinate a community-wide cleanup of used tires.  DEQ’s Tire Recycling Indemnity Fund will pay to haul off old, unused, or abandoned tires. Tire piles can be an eyesore and attract unwelcome pests, such as mosquitoes and rodents. After cleanup is complete and all criteria for other service projects are met, a community can be recognized as an Oklahoma Clean Community.

More information on the Used Tire Recycling Program is available at https://www.deq.ok.gov/land-protection-division/recycling/tire-recycling/or by contacting Ferrella March at ferrella.march@deq.ok.gov  or 405-702-5175.