Tulsa residents won't need a sticker for their yard waste after the Tulsa Authority for the Recovery of Energy board unanimously voted Tuesday to suspend the requirement.
Stickers would have been required starting Feb. 1. Vice chairman Paul White said they're trying to make it easy on residents while they figure out a long-term solution for the city's green waste program.
"That is going to take a bit of time to get right, and in the interim, we wanted to keep things as streamlined and easy for the citizens of Tulsa as possible," White said. "So we thought, in that vein, that leaving things as is, including leaving the sticker requirement off the table, was the right thing to do."
Residents may leave green waste at the curb in 2-foot by 4-foot bundles or in clear plastic bags.
The TARE board also gave the go-ahead to find a short-term contractor to pick up residents' green waste. The board approved up to $25,000 last month for consulting firm Leidos' help finding a company to perform curbside pickup for 12 months or less while the board came up with a permanent solution.
White said the invitation for companies to bid on that contract is ready to go as scheduled, save for a few minor tweaks.
"It will be made public, and anyone interested and capable will be invited to respond with a proposal to meet the requirements as spelled out," he said.
The chosen company can bid with a plan to take green waste either to the city mulching site or to the incinerator. If the process stays on schedule, a decision could be made by mid-March.
City Manager Jim Twombly was the lone "no" vote on the trash board, saying the city could find a permanent fix in roughly the same timeframe.
In addition to actions on the green waste program, the trash board approved the renewal of a contract with QuikTrip to sell extra refuse stickers. The orange stickers are required for bagged trash that residents want picked up but doesn't fit in their trash carts.
