Changes to Tulsa's residential trash system

[heironymouspasparagus]

As I have always said BA has acquired highly intelligent citizens who believe that all expenditures affecting all the people should be decided by the people.
So be it, trash pickup is a venture of all the citizens who should vote on any changes that are made.

BA citizens fire City Managers for withholding information from them.       

Don't be holding BA up as example - they have been getting real stupid the last few years, what with all the new people moving into town.

[TMS]

Not sure what your mailed proposal says, but it looks like my monthly bill for once-a-week trash service (as opposed to twice-per-week now) will be going up by around 20%.

[Hoss]

Not sure what your mailed proposal says, but it looks like my monthly bill for once-a-week trash service (as opposed to twice-per-week now) will be going up by around 20%.

Really?  The most you'll pay with two 96-gallon trash carts is 17.00.  I know the low-gen service I have now is 10.50 plus the 2.00 optional recycling (of which the fee for the new service will not exist).

The 64-gallon cart that I've opted in with at once a week will cost me 14.02.  Recycling is optional (96-gallon cart), but not an additional fee like it is now.  So, it's about a dollar and a half more.  I have six months to see if I can knock it down even further to a 32 gallon cart which will bring me down to to 12.52 which is right at where I'm paying now.

If you're not recycling now, you need to try with the new system.  You might be surprised how much it will reduce your need to have a 96-gallon cart.  It might not, depending on how large your household is.  Given that 20 percent is probably about 2 dollars, I'd say it's a non-issue.  Given that the current bill probably averages about $50 as is.  Mine is usually right at $45 (usually only use about 2 to 3 thousand gallons of water a month).

With two people, we generate about three to four 13-gallon bags of refuse a week.  I might be able to stuff that in a 32-gallon container, but I'd like the extra for things like green waste outside of the gratis period (which is November to January).

I can tell you in two weeks (the cycle for the recycling pickups), we easily fill the two 17 gallon containers we have.  If there are additional items that will be allowed in the recycle stream, that could even reduce our refuse amount further.  Thus the 6 months grace period for judging how much you'll use.

Have you tried going here to see what meets your needs?  The mailer is incredibly generic.

[TMS]

Thank you for the link Hoss. It's the same as the mailer I received from the city a week or so ago.

To be precise, the new mandatory city trash service will represent a 17.2 percent monthly increase in cost, and that's for less than half the service if you consider not only cutting twice-a-week service to once a week, but also the fact that we could put more trash at curbside before. This is if we choose the most inexpensive option now available to us (32 gallon, curbside, once a week service). Now we'll be limited to a considerably smaller amount each week, and for no more than we have to recycle each week, then I guess we're going to be stuck with yet another container, a huge blue tub blocking access from front to back on the side of the house and blowing down the street on days like this. 

I'd be curious as to what others calculate to be their increase (or decrease) with this new system. I don't mean to be skeptical, but in my case, it's definitely increasing, for decreasing service. (Actually, healthy skepticism is usually my first reaction when it comes to governmental control of our public dollars.) I just wish our local government could tell us straight up when they're raising our taxes (well, or "fees" if you'd like). Maybe everyone else's bills come out to no more monthly, for the same services. It seems like I do remember city hall stating that the new trash service would not cost us citizens any more, so we'll see. I hope they're right.


..just my $0.02 worth. Your mileage may vary.     

[nathanm]

I don't mean to be skeptical, but in my case, it's definitely increasing, for decreasing service.

Nobody said it would be cheaper. Or even the same price. The entire reason we're going through this is because we've been paying below cost for some years now. It stands to reason that the price would then increase. Thanks to bundled recycling, my cost is actually going down $1.42. If I didn't presently pay for recycling, it would be an increase of 58 cents a month. I only need a 64 gallon cart once a week. Twice is handy in case I forget one day, but it's not worth the extra four bucks a month to me.

[Hoss]

Nobody said it would be cheaper. Or even the same price. The entire reason we're going through this is because we've been paying below cost for some years now. It stands to reason that the price would then increase. Thanks to bundled recycling, my cost is actually going down $1.42. If I didn't presently pay for recycling, it would be an increase of 58 cents a month. I only need a 64 gallon cart once a week. Twice is handy in case I forget one day, but it's not worth the extra four bucks a month to me.

You must not have been on low-gen...mine is going up a little.

[Conan71]

They did a segment on the news last night about what a FAIL the 96 gallon recycling cart is especially for the elderly.  As we have no garage, I'm more than a little concerned where the 96 gallon recycle cart and 64 gallon trash cart are going to reside.

[Hoss]

They did a segment on the news last night about what a FAIL the 96 gallon recycling cart is especially for the elderly.  As we have no garage, I'm more than a little concerned where the 96 gallon recycle cart and 64 gallon trash cart are going to reside.

I guess I don't worry about that nearly as much as I'm sure others need to, as I have a fairly large porch, and the entryway in my living room from the front door could hold that cart.  But that is one thing I was pretty vocal about, was the inability to get different sized recycle bins.

[carltonplace]

Thank you for the link Hoss. It's the same as the mailer I received from the city a week or so ago.

To be precise, the new mandatory city trash service will represent a 17.2 percent monthly increase in cost, and that's for less than half the service if you consider not only cutting twice-a-week service to once a week, but also the fact that we could put more trash at curbside before. This is if we choose the most inexpensive option now available to us (32 gallon, curbside, once a week service). Now we'll be limited to a considerably smaller amount each week, and for no more than we have to recycle each week, then I guess we're going to be stuck with yet another container, a huge blue tub blocking access from front to back on the side of the house and blowing down the street on days like this. 

I'd be curious as to what others calculate to be their increase (or decrease) with this new system. I don't mean to be skeptical, but in my case, it's definitely increasing, for decreasing service. (Actually, healthy skepticism is usually my first reaction when it comes to governmental control of our public dollars.) I just wish our local government could tell us straight up when they're raising our taxes (well, or "fees" if you'd like). Maybe everyone else's bills come out to no more monthly, for the same services. It seems like I do remember city hall stating that the new trash service would not cost us citizens any more, so we'll see. I hope they're right.


..just my $0.02 worth. Your mileage may vary.     

The government has been subsidizing the cost of your trash pick up for some time and that has kept the price artificially low. Also low trash generators (like me with one bag per week) have been subsidizing high volume producers. Now we are moving to pay per use. My cost is about $1.17 more per month with the middle sized cart.

[swake]

They did a segment on the news last night about what a FAIL the 96 gallon recycling cart is especially for the elderly.  As we have no garage, I'm more than a little concerned where the 96 gallon recycle cart and 64 gallon trash cart are going to reside.

As the proud owner of a 96 gallon cart for the last 11 years it's a non issue. They are not hard to move at all, it's been my son's job to move the thing since he was 7 or 8 and if it is too much, they will come and get it for $5.

[nathanm]

You must not have been on low-gen...mine is going up a little.

Nope, we keep using 3,000 gallons of water a month, keeping us just out of low generator for the last couple of years. I'm a bit confused as to what the people presently complaining currently do with their trash cans? Or are they the ones setting out piles of bags that get rooted through by the local wildlife?

Also, you guys should be aware that big polycarts don't really blow around in the wind. They're not the cheap Rubbermaid carts with an 1/8th inch rod for a wheel axle that breaks within a year. I've had a 64 gallon polycart for about a year (best $60 I ever spent on anything to do with trash) and I don't recall it blowing anywhere in the period since. My old wheeled trash can would blow around in the slightest breeze. That was pretty annoying. Between having the heft to avoid being thrown about and the permanently attached lid that the trash guys still haven't managed to damage, it's quite alright, despite having no covered area to place it nor any way to avoid an annoyingly steep slope to get to the street.

[PonderInc]

They did a segment on the news last night about what a FAIL the 96 gallon recycling cart is especially for the elderly.  As we have no garage, I'm more than a little concerned where the 96 gallon recycle cart and 64 gallon trash cart are going to reside.

Yeah, that's a lot of capacity!  On the other hand, you can get a special rate on backyard pickup if you have a physical limitation, so what's the big deal?  You pay the rate based on trash, not recycling.  Park that sucker, fill it with what you've got, and let the city come get it.  (Unless it's too tall to open from a wheelchair...)

It's a huge win for Tulsa just to have people recycling with every trash pickup... regardless of the cart size.

I'm just excited that I no longer have to pay extra to do the right thing (curbside recycling.)  Now, doing the right thing doesn't cost me, and the more I recycle, the more I save on trash.  What's not to like?

[Conan71]

Yeah, that's a lot of capacity!  On the other hand, you can get a special rate on backyard pickup if you have a physical limitation, so what's the big deal?  You pay the rate based on trash, not recycling.  Park that sucker, fill it with what you've got, and let the city come get it.  (Unless it's too tall to open from a wheelchair...)

It's a huge win for Tulsa just to have people recycling with every trash pickup... regardless of the cart size.

I'm just excited that I no longer have to pay extra to do the right thing (curbside recycling.)  Now, doing the right thing doesn't cost me, and the more I recycle, the more I save on trash.  What's not to like?

That really hasn't bothered me to pay the $2.00 and use the two recycle bins from the city I've got.  If you saw our house footprint, you'd understand why a 96 gallon bin presents a logistical issue for us in terms of storage.  If I keep it in the back yard, no real issue until after a large rain and I've got to navigate a muddy path getting it to the curb.  But with 96 gallons, if I miss one collection chances are it will eventually be dry enough to roll it down to the curb.  We've got an area which is too shady for bermuda to grow but a total PITA to keep watered for fescue to grow and someone is too cheap at this point to spring for river rock

[carltonplace]

Is this our recycling cart?

[RecycleMichael]

yes