Changes to Tulsa's residential trash system

[TeeDub]

Broken Arrow trash rates are $25 a year higher than Tulsa's rates because of those bags. What "tools" do you think they could use to pick up bags off the ground?

for tools I would suggest a weight belt.

As for rates, I find it strange that BA can provide bags for all it's residents and still have cheaper rates than Tulsa.   (At least according to the papers.)  I don't understand where you see the $25 annual savings.

Tulsa's basic rate @ $15.52                http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=593&articleid=20120229_11_A1_Thecit405145
BA's rate (including bags) @ $15.50     http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120408_78_A16_CUTLIN646638

[Conan71]

I'm a fan of the carts, but it's dawned on me it's definitely going to create a storage issue on a 95 gal as to where to store it and still be able to conveniently get it to the curb.

[Hoss]

for tools I would suggest a weight belt.

As for rates, I find it strange that BA can provide bags for all it's residents and still have cheaper rates than Tulsa.   (At least according to the papers.)  I don't understand where you see the $25 annual savings.

Tulsa's basic rate @ $15.52                http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=593&articleid=20120229_11_A1_Thecit405145
BA's rate (including bags) @ $15.50     http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120408_78_A16_CUTLIN646638

Wow, a whopping two pennies.  I don't know that I could afford a quarter a year.



Oh, and informationally, we've been low generator, so our current refuse rate is about $10.52 a month.  Plus the recycle fee.  Our bill?  If we use the cart I want to use, it will actually be reduced by a little.

[Hoss]

I'm a fan of the carts, but it's dawned on me it's definitely going to create a storage issue on a 95 gal as to where to store it and still be able to conveniently get it to the curb.

I just cannot see where you and MC would need a 95 gallon cart.  I know with just me and my mother we'd likely be looking at just the 35, because currently I have a 50 and if we put out one 13 gallon bag of trash per pickup we're lucky.  I can get four of those in a 50 gallon, I'm guessing 3 might fit comfortably in a 35.  Plus, depending on any modifications they may make to what they accept as far as recyclables go, it could reduce it even more.

Me?  I'll enjoy not having to haul the green carts out to the curb without the wheels when I have a pantload of bottles in them (wheels that we asked the city to provide us when we enrolled in the recycling and never got still).  A little late now for those, so we'll just wait until October.

[RecycleMichael]

for tools I would suggest a weight belt.

As for rates, I find it strange that BA can provide bags for all it's residents and still have cheaper rates than Tulsa.   (At least according to the papers.)  I don't understand where you see the $25 annual savings.

Tulsa's basic rate @ $15.52                http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=593&articleid=20120229_11_A1_Thecit405145
BA's rate (including bags) @ $15.50     http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120408_78_A16_CUTLIN646638

That is the rate Tulsa will be charging AFTER they give everybody two carts and add recycling. The current rate for twice-a-week trash collection without recycling in Tulsa is $13.44 per month and the current rate for twice-a-week trash collection without recycling in Broken Arrow is $15.50.

$2.06 more per month is $24.72 more per year (I rounded up to $25).

[Conan71]

I just cannot see where you and MC would need a 95 gallon cart.  I know with just me and my mother we'd likely be looking at just the 35, because currently I have a 50 and if we put out one 13 gallon bag of trash per pickup we're lucky.  I can get four of those in a 50 gallon, I'm guessing 3 might fit comfortably in a 35.  Plus, depending on any modifications they may make to what they accept as far as recyclables go, it could reduce it even more.

Me?  I'll enjoy not having to haul the green carts out to the curb without the wheels when I have a pantload of bottles in them (wheels that we asked the city to provide us when we enrolled in the recycling and never got still).  A little late now for those, so we'll just wait until October.

Crap! Did I get suckered into one of Shadows' memes?  Where did I just read initially we would all have 95 gal carts.  Agreed, 35 will be more than enough!

[Hoss]

Crap! Did I get suckered into one of Shadows' memes?  Where did I just read initially we would all have 95 gal carts.  Agreed, 35 will be more than enough!

There was an article in the Whirled about it, and I made a comment about not liking the fact that the City made the decision to initially force the 95 gallon cart on us without our say-so.  They say it's easier to just order all 95 gallon carts than to have to worry about ordering a bunch of different sizes based on the customers request.

Wait, what?

[swake]

I'm a fan of the carts, but it's dawned on me it's definitely going to create a storage issue on a 95 gal as to where to store it and still be able to conveniently get it to the curb.

I have four concrete pavestones set next to the house that I park the cart on. In front of that I have a trellis with climbing vines and a large bush to hide the cart from the street. They actually hide the cart, my AC unit and all the meters. Most people do something similar to what I have done or people with three car garages often just keep it in the garage.

[Conan71]

I have four concrete pavestones set next to the house that I park the cart on. In front of that I have a trellis with climbing vines and a large bush to hide the cart from the street. They actually hide the cart, my AC unit and all the meters. Most people do something similar to what I have done or people with three car garages often just keep it in the garage.

I'll have to post a photo to properly show my dilemma. 

My front porch is a raised wooden deck and my two garbage cans & recycle bins fit nicely there.  Adjacent to the west, I had a massive photinia I removed last year.  That was going to be my garbage pad until I figured out it is the perfect size and gets the right amount of sunlight for a pepper bed.  I also do not have a garage (I know, imagine a gear head buying a house without a garage!) but a built-in covered car-port and a single car driveway.

35 gallon cart wouldn't be so bad, not much larger than my existing trash cans if not the same size.  A 95 gallon cart will prove to be a real asspain.

[heironymouspasparagus]

for tools I would suggest a weight belt.

As for rates, I find it strange that BA can provide bags for all it's residents and still have cheaper rates than Tulsa.   (At least according to the papers.)  I don't understand where you see the $25 annual savings.

Tulsa's basic rate @ $15.52                http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=593&articleid=20120229_11_A1_Thecit405145
BA's rate (including bags) @ $15.50     http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120408_78_A16_CUTLIN646638

The bag system has worked well for decades, so now we got all the 'newbie' immigrants who have come out from Tulsa to "make Broken Arrow better" who are pushing to get rid of bags and go to carts.

Another example of what I mean when I talk about people liking an area, moving there for the ambiance, then bringing the carp with them that they moved to the new place to get away from.  And yes, I have told them to leave the bag system alone. 

[carltonplace]

Another example of what I mean when I talk about people liking an area, moving there for the ambiance, then bringing the carp with them that they moved to the new place to get away from.  And yes, I have told them to leave the bag system alone. 

Not a fan of carp, huh? More of a catfish guy?

I'm lucky as far as cart placement...my garage faces the street at the back of the house and that is where they pick up the garbage. I won't have to cart my cart around. 

[heironymouspasparagus]

Not a fan of carp, huh? More of a catfish guy?

I'm lucky as far as cart placement...my garage faces the street at the back of the house and that is where they pick up the garbage. I won't have to cart my cart around. 

Seems like when I say 'crap', it gets changed.   (c%ap)

[TeeDub]

The bag system has worked well for decades, so now we got all the 'newbie' immigrants who have come out from Tulsa to "make Broken Arrow better" who are pushing to get rid of bags and go to carts.

Another example of what I mean when I talk about people liking an area, moving there for the ambiance, then bringing the carp with them that they moved to the new place to get away from.  And yes, I have told them to leave the bag system alone. 

I have several clients in rural Kansas that grumble about this as well.   

Either way, I guess the best I can do is go to the meetings and grumble that the old system worked and I don't want their stupid bins.    Yes, I might even save $25 a year by having bins, but I will also have to deal with the stupid thing as well as only having once a week service.

[nathanm]

Either way, I guess the best I can do is go to the meetings and grumble that the old system worked and I don't want their stupid bins.    Yes, I might even save $25 a year by having bins, but I will also have to deal with the stupid thing as well as only having once a week service.

Despite the ridiculously inconvenient hill I have to roll my existing trash bin down, I find it much easier than carrying out the bags individually or in small groups and as was mentioned before, it keeps the racoons and squirrels from making a mess. I almost never need even once a week pickup (every third pickup day is enough most of the time), so I'm not too concerned about losing the extra, especially since I'll get twice as many recycling pickups and a better bin to put it in. I'll also be far less likely to forget to take out the recycling if they're picked up at the same time.

Maybe I just don't get it, but I can't think of any reason why I'd want to go back to bags. Back when I lived in Arkansas I did that because I was too cheap to spend money on a good polycart. I had a friend of mine build a cedar box to store trash in until pickup day. It was all well and good except for the hauling of trash from the box to the curb. It would have been much easier with a cart.

[shadows]

Broken Arrow trash rates are $25 a year higher than Tulsa's rates because of those bags. What "tools" do you think they could use to pick up bags off the ground? Number of stops directly affects efficiency and thus rates. 100 less houses per day per route requires an extra truck and crew for a town of the size of Broken Arrow.

I am sure that Broken Arrow residents will whine when they lose their free bags. It is a great benefit and easy on the users. But the handlers are struggling and costs are soaring. Broken Arrow leaders are trying to keep rates as low as possible while also protecting their workers. 

Why is the city on these forms touted as the citizen’s master and is never wrong in any decision that is made?  A reprehensive democracy works well on presumption that the citizens are represented.  We have tried to install such governments as ours in the Mideast and they have only caused the loss of lives and drove the nation to the edge of bankruptcy. 
BA is making available to its citizens district meeting to discuss the changes.  RM would indicate that the bags weigh up to 40 pounds and the loaders of the bags reach down and place their arms around the bags and lift them with their back.  The loaders in BA (2 to a truck) before the truck stops rolling are grabbing the bags and swinging them into the truck.  I don’t believe that the cost of workman compensation should be discussed when Tulsa increase in claims is like a sky rocket.
It is indicated Tulsa carts and repairs will be free.  If you want another cart just call and the trash cops will bring you a new one.
The council (our reprehensive government) should demand and enact the total cost that the citizen will incur over a specific time.
Pray tell where you can buy some 200 trash bags for $25 that BA pays.
The citizens of Tulsa will do a lot of whining when they are required to buy bags and preformed the preparations and positioning and reclaiming their carts along with the cost they will encounter or the trash cop will fine them. 


If the present trash pickup is broken what is broken about it?