City of Tulsa's New Trash Service Begins Monday

Tulsa's trash service will change Monday to a short term plan that changes the pick-up day for many people, and changes the frequency of pick-up for most.

It's been a long time coming, but delays in finalizing the transition forced the city into a rushed change-over.

The city is pushing out information to homeowners hoping to smooth out the bumps.

For now, Tulsa will get the bones of what the next trash pick-up service will be. It's a cobbled together fleet of trucks that have to be ready for action Monday morning.

Gary Percefull of NeWSolutions said, "We anticipate there will be a little bit of confusion. Hopefully not too much confusion."

Percefull said despite a last-minute, three-month jump ahead in when they need to start pick-up, NeWSolutions will be able to mobilize Monday.

"We're going to haul trash the old fashioned way, which is the way it's been hauled for the past thirty-two years," Percefull said. "The big change for folks that have been getting the twice a week service will be, it's just going to be once a week."

6/21/2012 Related Story: New Details About Tulsa's Summer Trash Service

At first, the new system will look just like the old one with many of the same trucks and haulers working new routes.

The biggest change for most people is the switch to once a week service on a new collection day, which won't change after the full service starts.

The city is sending out letters and distributing flyers to homes with specific information.

"We want to make sure that customers are aware that there are going to be changes to their residential trash and recycling collection," said Liz Hunt, of the City of Tulsa.

The city doesn't have the new carts yet, which will be green for trash and blue for recycling.

They're still on order, but will go out to neighborhoods over the summer, and people can use them as soon as they arrive.

"We'll be phasing in and slowly transitioning into the new service, which will be fully implemented October 1," Hunt said.

At NeWSolutions, the phase in is day-by-day, with new trucks expected to arrive soon and their new headquarters under construction.

"It's kind of a tight situation. It's kind of confusing," Percefull said. "There wasn't a lot of time to get ramped up for this."

TRI is wrapping up their 32 year contract with the city this weekend.

Some of the haulers who worked for TRI will continue with NeWSolutions.

The city of Tulsa has posted information about the interim service on its web site.