Cities Offer Discounted Rain Barrel Purchase Program

Several cities are combining with the Central Oklahoma Storm Water Alliance (COSWA) to offer a discounted rain barrel purchase program. The goal of the program is to encourage area residents to conserve water and reduce pollution.

Although new rain barrels are sold at most hardware stores in order to further reduce plastic use the Oklahoma program has teamed with an Illinois company that specializes in repurposing barrels.

The company, Upcycle Products of Morris, IL, offers cleaned and recycled food-grade 55-gallon drums in a variety of colors. All barrels carry a 1 year warranty on the material and workmanship.

According to the company’s website the barrels were originally used to ship food to the United States from overseas with the different colors emanating from different regions. Black barrels came from India and Pakistan and contained baby gherkin pickles. Terra-cotta barrels brought olives from Greece. Gray and blue barrels came from countries in South America or Europe carrying such items as mint leaves, sugar beets, peppers and carrots.

The barrels come complete with spigot fittings, overflow hoses and screens to keep out critters and mosquitoes. Minimal assembly is required. Orders can be placed via mail or online.

“Rain barrels collect water that drains from your home’s gutter system,” said City Environmental Protection Manager Raymond Melton. “Watering with rain water is better for your plants, and it’s free.”

Melton added that using the barrels helps promote sustainability by limiting the amount of drinking water used on lawns and gardens. The barrels come with

Although seven cities have joined the program this Spring, the closing date and delivery address for purchases varies by city. Further, although sales are open to residents of all locations, to keep costs down purchased barrels are delivered to a city’s public works yard. Customers purchasing outside of their own city’s program window will thus need to collect their barrels from another city’s yard.

The sales deadline for Tulsa deliveries is March 24th. For deliveries to Norman, March 30th. For Midwest City, April 21st, and the deadline for deliveries to Oklahoma City or Stillwater is May 12th.

Residents of Edmond, Yukon and other locations can still place orders but must select one of the locations above for delivery.

To view the barrels or to make an online purchase, visit the company’s website at www.upcycle-products.com. From the site’s homepage look for the “Order Forms” section (on the right side of the screen). From there, look down the list and choose “Oklahoma Municipal Program.”

Barrels cost $63.50, including a $2.50 online processing fee.