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There is a possibility of curbside recycling to come to Bartlesville and Dewey for those that are interested.

Bartlesville City Councilman Paul Stuart said Recyclops – a voluntary, subscription service based out of Utah – found out about the area's interest in curbside recycling because of the results from last summer's recycling survey that was put on by the City of Bartlesville. He said they think that they can come to Bartlesville, make a profit and service 3-percent of area's population (approximately 500 residents) for $10 a month.

The entire community does not need to sign-up, but the more people that sign-up, the more the cities can save money. Councilman Stuart said Recyclops would not be tied to the City of Bartlesville or the City of Dewey, which means they will not use any tax dollars. Stuart said recycling will save the cities money because they will not have to pay dumping fees if more people choose to recycle with Recyclops.

If the minimum of 500 people sign-up and recycle an average of 5 pounds of recyclables a week, that means 32-tons of recyclables will not be going to the dump. If 1,000 were to sign-up and they average 10 pounds per pick-up, it will be approximately 120-tons in recyclables that do not go to the dump that the city has to pay for.

Recyclops will accept household paper, flattened cardboard, plastic containers (types 1, 2 and 5), and metal. Once they get the logistics worked out, Recyclops will collect glass as well for $5 more.

So far 73 households have signed up for the services. Recycling will not begin until the minimum 500 registrations are completed. You will not be charged until services begin. When it does start, there will be a $10 setup fee and you will use their bags for recycling.

Councilman Stuart said he believes prices could drop to $6 to $8 because of the interest the area has shown for curbside recycling. They will need 850 people to register for the services if the price were to be reduced. He said he believes this could be the make-or-break point for the area in terms of bringing in a recycling service.

To sign-up your household (whether your live in Bartlesville or Dewey), go to recyclops.com. You can even live outside city limits and participate in the recycling efforts.

Recyclops is set up in rural locations in Utah, Idaho, Texas, Colorado and Arizon. Lawton, Oklahoma and Yukon, Oklahoma are other places they are looking to be in other than Bartlesville and Dewey. Recyclops like to prioritize towns that have 7,500 to 50,000 inhabitants.

Councilman Stuart said companies and families that are looking to move into the area that see that there is interest in the area to keep our communities clean. He said it will show businesses that a certain portion of the population has disposable income for the "nice-to-haves," which will show that the community could, if they are willing, spend more money on higher-end groceries.