By Brendan Hoover
Managing Editor

Mustang’s curbside recycling program will begin this summer, officials said.

The target date for the program to begin is June, City of Mustang Interim Finance Director Sheila Cardwell said.

The City of Mustang and the Oklahoma Environmental Management Authority has sent letters to residents who signed up for the program, letting them know when the program will begin, Mustang Recycles Volunteer Coordinator June Tate said.

Under the city’s contract with OEMA, 500 residents had to make a one-year commitment for the program to begin. The cost is $5.50 per month in addition to basic sanitation service fees. Customers will receive a 65-gallon green polycart to be placed at the curb alongside their trash polycart. Recyclables need not be sorted.

Under the contract terms, OEMA has six months to implement the program. The 500 sign-up threshold was crossed about a month ago, Cardwell said.

Mustang Recycles plans to stay open until the curbside program begins, Tate said.

Mustang Recycles is open every Saturday from 9-11 a.m. Accepted materials include: Plastics #1 and #2, glass (clear, brown and green), tin and steel cans, aluminum cans, paper, cardboard and phone books.

The recycling center is located just outside of the Public Works facility west of Wild Horse Park at 520 W. SW 59th St.

The recycling center will be closed Saturday, March 20. No volunteers are available to work that day, Tate said.

Officials are asking residents not to leave recyclables at the center when it is closed, as they will be discarded rather than recycled.

Volunteers are still needed for shifts in March, April, May and June. Contact mustangrecycles@cox.net for more information.

To sign up for Mustang’s curbside recycling program, call 376-4521.

To contact OEMA’s Mustang office, call 256-5000.