Norman — The city’s trash transfer station on Chautauqua Avenue, south of State Highway 9, will soon be replaced by a new $3.5 million facility nearby. The city pushes about 300 tons of garbage through there, and that’s after the recycling is taken somewhere else.
It’ll be paid for through bonds backed by the utility bill revenue stream.
The new facility, planned east of the existing one, will have the capacity to accept 500 tons of garbage a day. That could be less if the city would add cardboard to the list of items that can be placed in curbside recycling containers.
The city’s 2-year-old curbside program is well used, as evidenced by the green containers out on trash day. But by taking the cardboard out of the city’s waste stream, our landfill costs would be lower and residents would be able to feel a little greener about the $3 monthly fee they now pay.
When the curbside recycling contract with Waste Management Inc. comes back up, we hope cardboard becomes part of the negotiations.
