The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

This would seem to be an obvious question about what to do with Tulsa's big trash reserve, but here goes ...

The city has been dilly-dallying around the idea of one-a-week trash pickup, using big containers, that would also recycle more of that trash. Once-a-week pickup would require less fuel and manpower, and recycling wouldn't fill up the landfills as quickly. So the benefits of such a switch are fairly obvious.

So why isn't anyone proposing the idea to use that trash reserve to buy big bins for residents and make the conversion? Is there not enough money? Or is it a case where the councilors are so weak-willed that they'd wilt at the thought of a few complaints that would last no more than a few weeks?

I think it's been high time this is done. Anything I'm missing?

I agree with you on this.....

This sounds the most likely, especially since we give those complainers so much leverage in this city.

So if we do go to once a week pickup with big bins, can I still pay them more money to get them to take it from my back yard? It's hard enough taking the relatively small bin I've got down to the street.

If I had to haul something bigger down to the street, I'd rather just pay the few bucks a month extra to have them come get it themselves.  :P

Why use big containers at all?  I often only put out the trash once a week when I have a lot of it, but most of the time its only once every other week.  Them going to once a week wont make there be any more or less bags at my place and from what I can tell, that would be the same for everyone else on my street. Not sure what the point of the big containers even is? The "bag system" once a week is what I do anyway lol. If I were to be serious about recycling I could cut it down to once a month or less.

I've seen the amount of trash some of my neighbors produce with house apes...they need the big container.

The point is to give everyone a container so that trash can be, in effect, metered. In most cities that use bins, only the contents of the bin are collected at no extra charge. If you need to dispose of more trash, you get charged more, either by having a larger bin available for a larger fee or by only picking up distinctively colored trash bags which you buy from the city, thus implementing a per bag charge for any excess refuse.

A big bin would be totally wasted on me and would create a storage issue. I'm like artist I generate very little trash especially since I got more serious about using curb side recycling. I wheel the can to the curb once a week when it's warm out just to keep food waste from attracting flies. I also tend to entertain more in the warm months. Otherwise it may take three or four weeks to fill my trash can in the winter.

I am finding though Conan that those little recycle bins don't last the two and sometimes three weeks in between pickups...

The TARE board has been trying to buy 90 gallon polycarts for the rest of the city and make a switch to once-a-week collection. The City Council hasn't been convinced that the citizens are ready to give up twice-a-week trash collection.

The big polycarts are much cheaper to service once-a-week than picking up bags and smaller containers twice-a-week. Generally it is the same amount of trash, but prices recently competitively bid in other American cities for each way show a three dollar per month savings going to carts.

The carts have a ten year life span on average and cost around $50 to $60. Amoritize them and it works out to about 50 cents per month per household.

If the city could switch the remaining 94,000 customers on 2x service/week to 1x cart service/week, it could lower every bill by around $2.50 a month for an annual savings of between 2.5 to 3.0 million dollars a year. In order to do this, TARE needs about $5 million to buy the polycarts.

On a side note, not everyone wants or needs a 90 gallon cart. Many cities offer the citizens a 60 gallon or 45 gallon cart for a slightly reduced rate.   

What I REALLY miss once I moved to BA was curb side recycling :(

Now about every 3 weeks I have to fill up my trunk with 'garbage' and take it to a center :(

We have once a week big bin trash (Green Country Trash) and it isn't that bad at all.  Heck, there are even times when we skip a week.  Of course it's just the two of us for now.

Seems easy enough to go to once a week with a little planning and foresight. :shrug:

Some bigger cities weigh the trash and charge by the pound.  This encourages recycling and drastically reduces costs for single people and seniors.

Also, as I have said before, Tulsa needs to use RecycleBank to get people to recycle:  www.recyclebank.com

I agree that the big bin is way to large and what do I do with my $60 trash bin I bought at Lowes?  The recycling containers should be as big as average trash bins rather than the little bins they provide for recycling now.

I like RecycleBank and know the guys who started it. It is a great idea. Unfortunately, it is a costly one. The costs for Tulsa to participate would be around a half million dollars per year. I just don't know if spending that much money to encourage more recycling would be supported by the citizens or the city council.

Drink less beer. 

Norman uses the big containers that can be wheeled to street for once-a-week pick-up and it seems to work really well.  They also have the small green containers for once-a-week curbside recycling.  My hope for Tulsa is to also have the big green containers picked up once a week but also a big blue container, the same size as the one for trash, picked up once a week or even once every two weeks.  Tulsa really needs to step up its recycling efforts city-wide.

I think citizens would support it when they get paid to recycle.  Tulsa just has to sell it to the public but they have a history of problems with that.  Maybe use some of that extra trash fund money to pay for it.  Also recycling cuts down on trash so it may save almost as much as it costs. 

I think RecycleBank would be great for Tulsa but if they don't go that way they need to make voluntary recycling a core part of waste disposal equal to trash service.

I wouldn't mind it so much with the smaller containers except for the wacky scheduling.  Instead of the 2nd/4th Thursday, how about every other Thursday?.  There are some months where I go three weeks instead of two in between recycle pickups.  Kinda goofy if you ask me.

Does the 1st and 3rd Saturday sound better? 

I'd love to have my recycling picked up on the weekday instead of the weekend.

That is what the consultant (R.W. BECK) recommended for Tulsa. The operational costs would be the same as today, but you need about $9 million to buy the carts.

Coincidently, TARE (Tulsa trash authority) has $9 million is a reserve fund. Unfortunately, other people have their eye on those funds.

Can citizens voluntarily opt out from getting a 90 gallon behemoth?  I don't need nor do I want a mini-dumpster around my house.  Several of my neighbors live alone like me and generate very little waste.

I live with my mother and we generate maybe three 13 gallon bags of waste a week.

Sure.

They make them in 30, 45, 60, and 90 gallon sizes. Most cities but at least two sizes for their customers and many offer a slight discount for those who accept a smaller cart. 

The smaller carts fit in garages easier and are easier to roll for senior citizens.

Why couldn't two or three households share a cart, each paying a reduced rate.

The city doesn't want to deal with calls about "my neighbor is taking up the whole cart"

The dumping fee is not the only cost to the trash service. It also costs money just to run the trucks and pay the crews.  Not enough paying trash bins on a route would require a rate increase.