Inflation Could Impact Trash, Recycling Bills In Tulsa

Inflation could impact your trash and recycling bill if you live in Tulsa.

A city advisory board voted on Tuesday to recommend a rate increase starting this fall.

This proposed rate hike would be the first in 10 years in the city of Tulsa for trash and recycling.

The city said there are several reasons for it.

Tuesday afternoon, the TARE Board, or Tulsa Authority for Recovery of Energy, discussed the issue in their monthly meeting.

The proposed increase would mean a typical residential account in Tulsa would see its rate go up by $3.08 per month starting in October.

It would increase again by that amount in October of 2023.

Board members said three of the four collection and disposal contracts the city uses for waste and recycling are expiring after a decade and have to be renegotiated.

Inflationary and supply chain issues are also playing a factor.

The cost of equipment maintenance for example is up 12 percent over last year. Energy prices are up 20 percent.

"Labor has gone up, supplies have gone up, materials, pretty much everything,” said Dorinda Alexander, chairwoman of the TARE Board. “So as we're getting the responses to our fees back, we're not seeing the rates we've seen for 10 years."

This proposal will now go to the mayor and then city council.

The city said a couple of other utilities may also increase in the city in the next year. Other boards will monitor those hikes.