Lawton Faces Recycling Crunch With Recyclops Potential Shutdown

This week Recyclops customers in Lawton learned that the current franchisee is ceasing recycling operations this May, and a new franchisee has yet to be established. Now Lawton residents who would like to continue to recycle may have to find alternative recycling options if the local Recyclops franchise isn't taken over.

Lawton is one of the larger municipalities in the state that does not offer a local recycling program managed by the city government. In 2021, Lawton City Council gave Lawton residents a recycling option by allowing the third party recycling program, Recyclops, to operate within Lawton. This also gave residents another option to dispose of waste after the city went from twice-a-week to once-a-week waste collection that same year.

However, with the possibility of the local Recyclops franchise no longer operating, Lawton residents will have only one option if they would like to continue recycling, and the City of Lawton may have to reconsider its stance on establishing a city-ran recycling program.

Lawton residents can take recyclable items to the Fort Sill Recycling Center.

Recyclops offered the convenience of curbside recycling pickup for Lawton residents, at a cost. But after May, Lawton residents may have to return to separating recyclables and dropping them off on Fort Sill at the Fort Sill Recycling Center.

The Fort Sill Recycling Center has recycling bins available outside the center 24/7. The center is not just for those living on post, but also available to those living in Lawton. However, those who do not live on post or do not have DoD ID, will have to register for a Fort Sill visitor pass to drop off recyclables at the Fort Sill Recycling Center.

Although this recycling option is available and free to Lawton residents, it does limit accessibility for Lawton residents who may not be able to access Fort Sill.

Lawton is one of the only major cities in Oklahoma that does not offer a recycling program.

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality provides a list of cities in Oklahoma that offer recycling. Based on the list, Lawton is one of the only major cities in the state of Oklahoma that does not offer a city-operated recycling program.

Lawton has a population of around 90,000 residents, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Mid-size towns compared to Lawton's population that have city-ran recycling options, include Edmond, Moore and Midwest City. These towns actually have a smaller population, but do have a higher cost of living due to their nearness to Oklahoma City, so these municipalities have more means to provide a city-ran recycling program.

But there are towns, like Enid and Ardmore, that are much smaller than Lawton and just as far from Oklahoma City of Tulsa that still offer city-ran recycling programs, whether that's curbside recycling or operating a recycling center for residents to drop off recyclables. Lawton's neighboring towns of even smaller populations also have city-ran recycling programs, including Duncan and Comanche.

READ MORE: How Lawton Residents Can Dispose Of Tough Items On May 2

Why does Lawton not offer a city-ran recycling program for residents?

Recyclops was supposed to be the answer for Lawton residents who wanted a recycling program from the City of Lawton. But now that the program may go away, residents may once again be asking the same questions about recycling locally like they had before 2021. And even though Lawton residents can utilize the Fort Sill Recycling Center, the lack of accessibility may make it harder for residents to recycle.

Now that city-ran recycling programs have become more common in Oklahoma, especially in cities smaller than Lawton, local officials may want to reconsider looking at a city-run recycling program. And using the "it cost too much" argument may not be a good enough answer with Lawton residents if water bills increase.