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Tulsa staff propose 4% trash rate increase as city rebids long-term hauling contract
Summary
City staff told the Budget Committee the proposed FY26 solid-waste rate model includes a 4% increase and outlined an RFP schedule for the city's hauling contract, plans to commercialize the Greenway green-waste operation and ongoing limits with the city's trash-to-energy partner.
Tulsa's Budget Committee heard a presentation on anticipated fiscal year 2026 trash collection fees and service changes, including a proposed 4% rate increase and a planned competitive procurement for the city's hauling contract.
A staff designee to the director of public works said the city will issue a hard RFP for the hauling contract in June, receive bids in August and execute the successor contract October 1, 2026; the current hauling contract expires September 30, 2026. The staff member said the forthcoming hauling agreement is expected to be a 10-year contract with renewals to provide multi-decade stability for solid-waste services.
The increase and the contract schedule matter because most large solid-waste services in Tulsa are contracted and many of those contracts use an inflation escalation (CPI) clause capped at 5%. "We are proposing a 4% rate increase," the presenter said, noting the city modeled 3% ongoing inflation in the rate forecast and that last year's proposal had been 5% before adjustments in fund balance.
Why it matters
City staff said contract escalation tied to CPI accounts for much of the year-to-year growth in the solid-waste budget. Staff estimated municipal waste tonnage at roughly 16,000 tons per year and recycling tonnage at about 18,000 tons. City contracts include a landfill option for quantities above the trash-to-energy partner's allotment; staff said the contract with the trash-to-energy operator (referred to in the presentation as ReWorld, formerly Covanta) provides for up to 100,000 tons without separate approvals and that tonnage above that level can be diverted to landfill when necessary.
Details and council questions
- Contracts and schedule: Staff said three of the solid-waste service contracts were rebid in recent years and that the hauling contract is the final major contract they are rebidding. The RFP timeline given was: issue in June, open bids in August, and new contract to begin Oct. 1, 2026. The presenter described the contractual CPI escalator and the 5% cap.
- Green-waste site commercialization: Staff described plans to contract a commercial operator to run the commercial side of the Greenway site later this summer. The plan calls for two gates (one commercial gate and one resident gate), and the city's employees would continue to operate the resident gate and keep free mulch and firewood available for residents. Staff said the commercial operator would bring its own equipment, run the commercial operation under a lease or tenant arrangement, and would need state DEQ permitting for some activities (for example, colored/dyed mulch production).
- Schedule and pricing at the Greenway/HHP site: Staff said nonresident green-waste disposal is currently $2.64 per cubic yard, and the household hazardous-products (HHP) facility is free for Tulsa residents with specified operating days and hours. The MET regional voucher provides 45 free pounds for MET customers; non-MET users pay $1.37 per pound for disposal beyond that voucher. Staff said the swap shop and free mulch programs remain popular.
- Recycling and single-provider issues: Staff explained the recycling processor (TRT in presentation) is effectively a single-provider market in the region and that the recycling price per ton is calculated with a different formula than refuse hauling. A council member asked why TRT's price increased from 78.6 to 82.53 (units as shown in the presentation); staff said the recycling contract formula is more complicated and includes market sell-back elements.
- Service options and eligibility: Staff said the city will keep programs for physically limited customers (backyard pickup) and that residents with medical documentation can remain on those special-service lists. Staff said the twice-a-week trash service option will not be offered in the new contract because fewer than 3,000 households use it and the operational impact on roads is not justified.
- Enforcement and commercial use: Staff said they are installing a vehicle-tag tracking system (camera/tag-reader) to detect commercial vehicles using the resident gate and to encourage proper routing to the commercial gate.
Council members pressed staff on outreach to landscapers and small commercial operators after recent rate increases; staff said the Terra board and staff had engaged stakeholders and staged increases to give businesses time to adjust bids, and that Tulsa remains a competitively priced disposal option compared with regional landfill rates.
Ending
No formal vote or final action on rates was recorded during the committee meeting. Staff said the RFP and contract timeline remain on track and that the final hauling contract award and any ordinance or rate ordinance would return to the council for formal action in a subsequent public meeting.
