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News that Tulsa Recycle and Transfer Center is partially up and running has some local recylers asking if the City of Bartlesville drop-off recycle center will reopen soon.

The answer is: not yet. TRT experienced a fire on April 1 that caused extensive electrical damage and resulted in the temporary closure of the facility.

"It’s our understanding they believe the fire was caused by a lithium battery that had been improperly placed in recyclable items," City Public Works Director Keith Henry said at the time.

Henry said on Wednesday that TRT has notified the City that the center is open for partial operation, accepting only cardboard for processing — news that won't have any impact on the City's drop-off center, located at 10th Street and Virginia Avenue.

"TRT is limited in the materials they can accept and won't be fully operational until the end of the year at the earliest," Henry said. "Because our drop-off center cannot be staffed and monitored to ensure that no other items are placed in the recycle bins, we will remain closed until TRT is fully operational."

Henry said that in the meantime, City staff will continue to seek other options.

"We are still talking to Replenysh, a California-based company that matches recycling events with potential buyers, following their presentation to the City Council in June," he said. "While it's still on the table, we haven't yet nailed down a way to implement their program locally."

Henry said, local residents can utilize private company options.

"We understand people want to recycle," he said. "We're doing everything we can to get everything back up and running and, of course, we'll let everyone know just as soon as we have a targeted reopening date, which we anticipate will be around the end of this year or the first of next year."