Thursday, January 6th 2022, 2:26 pm
Bristow, Oklahoma is setting recycling records through a home-grown recycling campaign.
Thursday morning a truck hauled away nearly 20 tons of cardboard, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Kris Wyatt helped bring recycling to her city just under a year ago.
“Within the first month we had a built a self-sustaining zero-cost recycling program," Wyatt said.
She contacted Replenysh, a company that connects buyers of recycled goods to communities looking to sell their recycling.
“Bristow has really been a leader in many ways, to launch this in the state of Oklahoma," said Reece Hammer, a Replenysh senior manager.
Wyatt says Replenysh helped Bristow do what so many others said couldn't be done.
“Every time I would reach out to a larger recycling company I was told, ‘Bristow is too far away, our population is too small, it’s too expensive,’ and I was just told no," she said.
It isn't just cardboard. Replenysh helps people like Wyatt find buyers for their recyclables.
“The supply chain to the demand side. So, businesses and brands need recyclable materials for their packaging, and we have become a supplier for those products," she said.
The supply, storage and sorting is entirely community-led.
“People were looking for this. I mean people wanted to be able to recycle they wanted to be able to do this," Wyatt said, “When you’re finished with your water bottle or your soda can or your Amazon box, there is somebody waiting to pay money for that item. That product has value, it’s no longer trash."
Bristow started with 1 host site. In less than a year, the number has grown to 10.
“And we just came over the hundred-thousand-pound mark in Bristow alone," Hammer said.
This is a model that can be replicated almost everywhere. To find out how to do that, you can visit the Replenysh website: Replenysh.com.
January 6th, 2022
November 25th, 2024
November 25th, 2024
November 25th, 2024
December 14th, 2024
December 14th, 2024
December 14th, 2024