Tulsa staff proposes 4% trash-rate increase, outlines hauling RFP and plans to commercialize green-waste operations

Cheryl Paul, designee for the director of public works, told the Budget Committee on the proposed fiscal 2026 solid-waste budget that staff plans a 4% rate increase for trash collection and is preparing a request for proposals for the city’s municipal hauling contract.

The rate increase is intended to cover annual contract escalation tied to the consumer-price index and other operating costs, Paul said, and is 1 percentage point lower than the 5% modeled last year. "We're proposing a 4% rate increase," Paul said.

Why it matters: the city’s hauling contract for curbside pickup expires Sept. 30, 2026; staff said it will issue an RFP in June, receive bids in August and execute a successor contract by Oct. 1, 2026. The hauling contract, the recycling handler and the trash‑to‑energy operator together determine much of the city’s annual solid-waste expense, so the new contract will shape customer costs for years.

Paul said Tulsa currently has four major solid-waste contracts and that three of them were rebid in recent years. She described the hauling contract as a planned 10‑year agreement with renewal options. "Our last contract is the hauling contract that currently New Solution has. The current contract expires September thirtieth of 20 26. We are currently in the process of an RFP," Paul said.

Operational details and service changes

- Trash-to-energy and landfill: Paul said the city’s trash-to-energy partner (referred to in the presentation as Reworld, the company previously known as Covanta) has contract language…