OKMULGEE, Okla. – The sounds of paper shredding and the smell of hotdogs on the grill at the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Recycling Center can only mean one thing: Earth Week. The week is dedicated to celebrating the planet we call home and brings awareness for conservation efforts to protect the environment. The MCN Office of Environmental Services offers many ways to celebrate and educate every year with two community events – the Community Clean Up Event and the Recycle Collection Event, held this year on April 24 and April 25.

Counting on April weather to stay dry on the Mvskoke Reservation can be hit or miss. Although the morning of the Community Clean Up event on April 24 saw showers, clear skies held out for the afternoon. The event organizes volunteers to clean up trash along Highway 56 between the MCN Tribal Complex and the College of Muscogee Nation. 

MCN Office of Environmental Services Director James Williams runs point on Earth Week events hosted by his office every year. According to Williams, the event had a total of 50 volunteers who showed up to offer their time and services to the community. “We had a good crowd. We picked up a lot of trash, about 600 pounds from the complex to the college.” Williams said. 

Every year at the Recycle Collection Event community members are welcome to drop off electronics and large domestic appliances, including washers, dryers, refrigerators and freezers. Automobile batteries and tires were also taken in. A shred truck was also available to shred documents with sensitive information.

 All of the recyclable material collected by the department stays out of landfills or a burn pile. Although not all the materials dropped off are recyclable, Williams and his team make sure to recycle as much as they can.

“A single family household generates up to 2,500 pounds of waste a year,” Williams said. “If we can just tap into some of that and make it smaller, reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose, and refuse.”

Williams’ advice for eliminating waste is commonly known as the five R’s. Refuse involves refusing to buy or accept items which may be wasteful or unnecessary. Taking pictures of business cards or pamphlets instead of accepting them is an example. Reduce involves making choices to reduce what we consume, such as bringing your own bags to the grocery store. Reuse involves using items more than once instead of using them a single time. Items like glass jam jars can be used to store dry foods items after use. For items that can’t be refused, reduced, or reused consumers can turn to repurpose. Repurpose is finding ways to use items for something other than their initial, intended purpose. An example of repurposing is using food scraps for compost, or veggie scraps in a broth. The last R, recycling, is intended to be a last resort. This is where certain items  are separated in the waste flow and made into new materials so that they do not end up in landfills.

According to Williams, recycling is a good habit to pick up at any age. For those who do not know where to begin, he recommends starting small.

“Start with plastic bottles. That’s the bane of our society now, everything is in plastic bottles now,” Williams said. “They got to start small, because those bottles smash down to nothing. Otherwise they’re going to end up in the waterway.”

Williams explained that the department is looking to set up monthly stops at all 26 MCN Community Centers. The project, in development, will encourage the communities to collect recyclables from members at their monthly meetings. 

“We’re trying to get into all of the community centers to get them to recycle through the month, then when they have their community meeting, bring their recyclables, then we’ll pick it up the next day.” Williams said. “That’s our goal this year is to touch base with these centers.” 

To stay up to date on events hosted by the MCN Office of Environmental Services, visit their Facebook page. They can also be contacted at 918-549-2580.