Tulsa's Green Waste Rules Changing In July

One of the goals of the new trash system is to cut down on the amount of trash. For every truck load - the city pays about $100 to dispose of it.

Some things that go into the trash now - like bags of leaves, and leftover Christmas trees - cost less to get rid of if they're kept out the trash truck.

"We would utilize a third truck. There would be one for trash, one for recycling and one for green waste," said Eric Lee, City of Tulsa Solid Waste Manager.

"The green waste truck would divert that from the landfill or incineration and we'd take that to our green waste site."

The city would like to see all green waste handled separately and turned into compost at their green waste recovery center.

The city already takes anything that people drop off - but that's a tiny portion of what's thrown out.

Since the city is switching to a system where the price is based on volume - they'll still allow green waste to be disposed of inside the carts. But everything that won't fit inside the cart will have to be specially bagged - or tagged - to be picked up.

"TARE has agreed that any extra space left in the cart beyond the household refuse can be used for green waste, but in leaf or mowing season some people go over that so that's when we'd use the bags or tags," Lee said.

Green Waste Guidelines For Homeowners 

• Same - 4' x 2' size limit
• Same - 50 lb weight limit
• New - Separate disposal
• New - Outside cart = extra fee 

For the first time, the city will have a separate disposal system that recycles the waste.

And what doesn't fit inside the cart incurs the extra fee for disposal.

The City of Tulsa plans to have the bags or stickers available at convenience stores and to give customers some for free when the service starts July 1, 2012.