Tulsa City Council Attempts To Clear Up Confusion Over Trash Service Changes

The Tulsa City Council is trying to answer questions and clear up misconceptions about changes to the trash service. The council hosted a public hearing at City Hall Wednesday night.

City Councilors say they've been swamped with complaints. A lot of it is based on wrong information about why things are changing and who is making the decisions.

01/26/2010 Related Story: Changes On The Way For Tulsa Trash Service

There are people who think the city council can stop changes to the trash service, but they really cannot - and it's not true that's the changes were made without public input. It's just taken years to get down to the final decisions.

Trash Service FAQ

City Trash Manager Eric Lee gave a basic outline of the new trash service to a room full of curious Tulsans.

From why the service is being changed--to what is broken with the current system.

"Unlimited refuse is broken," he told residents at the meeting. "There are a lot of people who put out a minimal amount of bags and subsidize the people who put out a lot of bags."

Lee says the new system will be a more streamlined and cost efficient way for people to be responsible for the trash they put out.

Some at the meeting wanted to know if they would be penalized for choosing not to recycle. The answer is no. Another question, would recycling be made mandatory in the future?

"I don't have a crystal ball, but not once in any meetings did TARE say mandatory recycling," Lee said.

Lee says the goal is to get people to recycle so they could lower their utility bill. He says ultimately the total cost for your trash, depends on how much you throw away.

A few people were concerned about the size of the carts. The city says there will eventually be a choice ranging from 35 gallon to 95 gallon carts. And it will offer backyard and extended backyard service for the elderly and disabled.

Thursday, the council will decide if the city will buy the carts for $14.5 million dollars for residents to use. The trash board will make their final decisions on the contracts this Friday.