Questions Remain As Tulsa Gets Closer To Start Of New Trash Service

Tulsa's trash authority is one step closer to rolling out the new collection service.

Tuesday, the TARE board approved an October 1st start date for trash and recycling. They also talked about ordinance changes regarding the carts and trash bags, but that part is tricky.

03/21/2012 Related Story: Tulsa's New Trash Service Delayed

The board has to change ordinances and those ordinances are all tied to one another, so it's going to be a complete overhaul.

Tulsa's new trash and recycling service will start October 1st, three months later than originally planned. The board had to vote on that now to meet the deadline.

"The collections contractor has to order trucks, create a fueling station for their CNG trucks, so that's going to take approximately six months," said Eric Lee with the City of Tulsa.

The date is set, but a lot of questions are still up in the air about the carts, bags and other issues.

"What to do with the carts, what size, when can customers swap out sizes of carts, rates that go along with the carts and a lot of questions about the green waste and how that's going to be collected," Lee said.

That's where the ordinances for trash pickup come in. The city must rewrite nearly every ordinance to match the new services offered.

Through those ordinances and public education, the board says questions should be cleared up. The board is also still accepting public input and fielding concerns.

"We always encourage customers to go to the city of Tulsa website. Obviously, customers are also encouraged to call the Mayor's action line," Lee said.

The city will start passing out the 249,000 trash carts between July and September. Everyone will get two of the largest rolling carts, one for trash - and one for recycling. Then they can switch out sizes later.

The TARE Board could have the first draft of those new ordinances by the end of next week. After those ordinances are finalized, the city will launch a big public relations campaign to explain the new system.