New City of Tulsa 'Pay As You Throw' Trash Rules In Effect

The city says the new trash carts have to be placed on the curb in a specific way for the robotic arm to pick them up. All trash has to be inside the cart or bagged with a pre-paid tag.

Monday, October 1st 2012, 7:23 am

By: Emory Bryan

New City of Tulsa 'Pay As You Throw' Trash Rules In Effect

And Monday, October 1 was the first day that to get rid of anything that's not in a city issued cart - there had to be a sticker. There is a sticker for extra trash - and is the one for limbs and leaves or grass.

They're sold at QuikTrip and at the QT I visited, I was the first person to buy them.

The first day of the new trash service looked a lot like the last three months, with a few exceptions. One was the appearance of some orange stickers.

They're required to be on any bag that's outside of the trash cart - and they cost 50 cents each.

If it's outside the cart - in a bag or not - and it doesn't have a sticker - it won't be picked up.

In the situations where trash haulers see something outside the can, without a sticker, they'll leave it behind. They'll also leave a note explaining why - and telling customers they need to use the stickers for extra trash.

With the changeover, New Solutions crews are now picking up trash over the entire city for the first time - and all the new rules take effect. The biggest change is the end of the unlimited pickup - and the change to city issued carts both for trash and recycling.

"I like the recycling because I can put a lot of recycling in there besides the trash, and I know it's going to a good cause, said customer Bill Reno.

The official changeover also means the start of the full service - with all the options like backyard pickup and twice a week pickup if the customers pay more.

That's new - so trash haulers were learning as they went on the routes.

"They passed me and so I ran down there and they said 'Oh OK,' and they came back and they did it," said June Favati of Tulsa.

The trash hauler continues to roll out new trucks with less exhaust - including some little ones to handle long driveways and cul-de-sacs where bigger trucks can't turn around.

It's another change after a summer of changes for Tulsa's trash.

People who want to get rid of their old trash cans can leave them at the curb - but they can't have trash in them - without one of these stickers. But they do need to label the cans with the word "trash."

City officials say any questions about the new trash service as well as the new recycling program can be answered by calling 918-596-9777 or you can visit the city of Tulsa's web site.