Recycling company touted in Okmulgee

By JOHN STANCAVAGE World Business Editor - 11/4/2009


OKMULGEE — City officials say they have attracted a waste-recycling company that will build a $150 million complex and eventually employ 1,400 people.

Waste Not Technologies of Destin, Fla., will construct an industrial park that will turn residential and commercial waste into a variety of products, Mayor Brian Priegel said in a telephone interview.

Construction of the complex, which is to have 800,000 square feet of combined office and manufacturing space on a 250-acre site, will begin by year's end, and it should be ready in two years, Priegel said.

"This is probably the largest project under way in the state, and we're fortunate that it's happening in Okmulgee," he said.

Waste Not will accept trash from the surrounding area and likely also from other states, he said. It will separate the materials and send them to specific processing and manufacturing plants within the business park.

The resulting products will include plastic pallets and plastic railroad ties, composite countertops and insulation, Priegel said. It also will use waste to create an additive that makes coal burn more efficiently, he said.

"Landfills are going by the wayside. This company's vision will be the way of the future," he said.

The local chamber of commerce is providing the land at no cost, Priegel said. Waste Not also has been working with the state on other incentives, he said.

Waste Not selected Okmulgee because of the large site and its accessibility by road and rail, Priegel said.

Waste Not's Web site lists jobs with an average annual pay of $30,000 to $36,000.

The Abilene, Kan., Reflector-Chronicle reported in an Oct. 22 story that Waste Not announced a similar project in nearby Herrington. The story said Waste Not had $2.8 billion in funding and was looking to develop 104 sites across the country.

Waste Not officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

Priegel said Waste Not pledged that the industrial park will be attractive and clean. "They will control the smell and the noise. You won't have a clue they are bringing trash in there," he said.

Plans call for an initial eight-hour shift of 700 workers to handle 1,000 tons of trash a day, Priegel said. That would expand to three shifts and 1,400 workers processing 3,000 tons of garbage, he said.

The plant will not accept hazardous or medical wastes, he said.



John Stancavage 581-8314
john.stancavage@tulsaworld.com


_________________________________________________

Tulsa World Reader Comments
_________________________________________________

Golden Sluricane, (11/4/2009 2:53:38 PM)
Wait, wait, can we just use Tar Creek as a landfill? We got a huge hole in the ground, its already polluted. Think about it people.

oldrustytulsa, Tulsa (11/4/2009 8:03:27 AM)
Ever since the 1970s Okmulgee has lost how many industries, 8 or 9, including oil refineries, because of the EPA and OSHA, See its the federal regulations that are damming the economy.Drill here drill now, mine our coal, produce our own natural gas, wind and sunshine are free, So get all we can but do something now,The government can be either part of the problem or part of the solution, is the way I see it.

Few Clothes, America (11/4/2009 8:00:03 AM)
Newsmax. That BS could be make into fertilizer, so that would be the first positive thing B. Hussein has ever done.

Few Clothes, America (11/4/2009 5:11:13 PM)
Do they have an estimate of how much refuse will be contributed by the city of Okmulgee? Hell, I was a trash man working my way through college for a buck an hour. Of course it was 40 years ago.

FS, Broken Arrow (11/4/2009 11:59:44 AM)
Yep - wonderful jobs. Not far removed from the Federal Poverty Level, but jobs, nonetheless. I guess the chicken packers got a bad name so we're settling for this.

born okay the 1st time, tulsa (11/4/2009 12:39:56 PM)
A prime example of the PRIVATE SECTOR creating jobs, with no help from the current admninistration.

born okay the 1st time, tulsa (11/4/2009 12:40:50 PM)
Gripe & complain about the wages, but Ill bet there are many outh there who would be happy with an annual pay of $30,000 to $36,000

I'm Reliable, (11/3/2009 9:56:06 PM)
I suppose its good news, but Oklahoma needs to attract high tech jobs in the 60,000 to 100,000 dollar range. Oklahoma already has many low wage jobs!!

PhoenixIX, Jenks (11/4/2009 7:49:59 AM)
The Economy is indeed bouncing back.Thnaks to the policies of our President.

dork74, Broken Arrow (11/4/2009 1:11:27 PM)
I agree born ok, that's not a bad wage. It sure beats $10/hour at Wal-Mart and is 2.5-3x more than minimum wage. It's also more than unemployment will pay at the maximum level so there could be lots of laid off professionals that will be applying there.

justforfunuc, (11/4/2009 6:48:13 AM)
I agree with I'm Reliable. Oklahoma is becoming the low wage capital that is why every two weeks I am on a plane from Houston with 20 other people flying home. We have to work in Houston to make a good wage.

Scringe, Tulsa (11/4/2009 6:10:57 AM)
Take a look the rest of the USA there are alternatives to filling up huge partial of land with waste, which one day soon we will be mining to extract the raw materials out for use in other products. I applaud Okmulgee for this great addition to the State of Oklahoma.

UncleNate, (11/3/2009 9:13:00 PM)
This is great news for not only Okmulgee, but Oklahoma. 1400 jobs, that is amazing!

Welcome to America !, Claremore (11/4/2009 7:24:08 AM)
hmmmmm, how many of you invested in Fiber-Plast, a recycling plant here in Tulsa, that was fabricating some of the exact same products as this new company.

gba, (11/4/2009 5:08:26 AM)
newsmax...real cute,do ya think the jobs would be available if the bush was still in office ? me think not

SteveH, McAlester (11/4/2009 12:36:18 PM)
I never cease to be amazed at how gullible people can be in the name of economic development. I guess the bigger the scam, the easier it is to sell.

SteveH, McAlester (11/4/2009 3:09:52 PM)
For some reason I'm reminded of George C. Scott in "The Flim Flam Man," Burt Lancaster in "The Rainmaker," and Robert Preston in "The Music Man." Before this "project" runs its course, there will be trouble in River City. Something will be stinking and it won't be just garbage.



Email to a Friend
Main Menu