Dive Brief:

• Waste officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma are entering into negotiations with one of the city's trash companies. The haulers argue they are owed a greater amount for green-waste collection.
• The language of the contract is under dispute. NeWSolutions, the company hauling the waste, signed the agreement, but says no addendums to the contract address the collection of green waste in carts. The board disagrees, and says the wording implies a green waste collection system would be operational. 
• The issue will be addressed by a newly-formed subcommittee, who will then renegotiate the issue with the hauler.

Dive Insight:

Green waste was supposed to be placed into bags for pick-up. Crews would then be expected to deliver the organic waste to the mulching plant. Since the program launched in October of 2012, the green waste has been co-mingled with trash and brought to the city incinerator instead. The reason behind this was that the facility cannot separate the clear bags required by the city from the organic waste.

Green waste disposal has been an ongoing issue in Tulsa for some time. Residents were in an uproar this summer when they initially discovered that the organics were entering the waste-to-energy facility. Many in the community requested a refund for yard waste services.