For Immediate Release: October 2, 2023

Contact:  Erin Hatfield, 405-437-8468 or erin.hatfield@deq.ok.gov

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), in partnership with Keep Oklahoma Beautiful (KOB), will recognize Keep Broken Arrow Beautiful (KBAB) as an Oklahoma Clean Community during a special ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. on October 5^th, 2023.  The ceremony will be held at Central Park in Broken Arrow, 1500 S. Main St, Broken Arrow, OK 74012. KBAB will be recognized as a Level I, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Oklahoma Clean Community. This is the highest recognition a community can receive under the Oklahoma Clean Community Program.

In the past two years, KBAB has hosted multiple events that have helped beautify the community and reduce dumping. KBAB co-hosts the City’s biannual Trash Bash & Recycling Rally. This event is both a litter cleanup event and special collection event for hard-to-recycle items like tires, batteries, e-waste, sharps, paper shredding, and more. In the past two years, they have picked up over 5 tons of trash, recycled more than 1,000 tires, and collected 9.5 tons of e-waste.

In 2022, KBAB participated in Paint Oklahoma Beautiful and partnered with the Military History Center to give their building some new life with fresh paint. They also host the annual Rose Festival, which promotes arts and crafts, gardening, local non-profits and has a large kite festival. The proceeds were put toward the new gardens at Central Park in Broken Arrow, which will boast rose gardens, native plants, and educational signage for the public. KBAB participates in the Great American Cleanup, the KOB Affiliate Network, and Paint Oklahoma Beautiful, as well as community improvement workshops and the Keep Oklahoma Beautiful Environmental Excellence Awards. KBAB was awarded KOB’s Affiliate of the Year award in 2022.

Residents who support these programs and employees that work hard to provide the services are instrumental in making Broken Arrow a cleaner and greener community.  As a result of their efforts, KBAB has reduced many risks to human health and the environment. Keep Broken Arrow Beautiful 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 http://www.deq.state.ok.us/lpdnew/TireRecyclingPrg.htm or by contacting Kole Kennedy at kole.kennedy@deq.ok.gov  or 405-702-5177.

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