Melissa Robinson receives recycled goods from visitors.
Choctaw Nation recycling program collects nearly four tons at Labor Day
By ZACH MAXWELL
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
DURANT, Okla. - The Choctaw Nation Going Green Team nearly doubled the amount of recyclable material collected at this year’s Labor Day Festival compared to 2013.
A total of 7,580 pounds – nearly four tons – of recyclable items were collected at special receptacles throughout the Labor Day Festival grounds at Tvshka Homma.
The weightiest item collected was cardboard at 3,565 pounds, followed by 2,758 pounds of plastics. More than 1,100 pounds of aluminum was collected, with 86 pounds of paper and 45 pounds of tin also collected.
Most of the plastics collected were Gatorade and water bottles at 2,690 pounds. Laid end-to-end, these bottles would have stretched more than two miles.
The Going Green Team, led by Director of Environmental Sustainability Tracy Horst, credited her hard-working staff as well as Choctaw Nation program participants and food vendors for setting aside cardboard boxes and collecting material during the busy festival.
But the Going Green Team is not resting on its laurels. They will be holding “Fresh Paint days” at Nanih Chito Methodist Church in Wright City on Sept. 26-27.
This event, made possible by Keep Oklahoma Beautiful and H.I.S. Coatings, will include Going Green Team members and volunteers applying fresh paint, window coverings, mowing grass, planting trees and shrubbery and replacing doors at this traditional Choctaw church.
For information on donations or to volunteer for this event, please contact the Going Green Team at (580) 920-0488 or email thorst@choctawnation.com.
Also visit the Going Green Facebook page for tips about recycling.