Dive Brief:

• The waste board in Tulsa, OK has approved a proposal to incinerate green waste at the municipal Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility.
• Only one board member out of seven voiced opposition to the plans, citing inefficient time to review the contract and conflicting reports as to the expected cost of the collection services.
• NeWSolutions was the only firm to bid on the project. The company also serves as Tulsa’s current waste hauler. 

Dive Insight:

Green waste collection in Tulsa has been a controversial issue for years. Back in 2013, residents were left reeling when it was determined that organics were being sent to the EfW plant instead of the municipal mulching site.  

There are reports that Tulsa waste officials had been negotiating with the hauler for months regarding the contract's language. 

Going forward, the organic waste will be picked up in scheduled curbside collections. The hauler will transport the waste to the Walter B. Hall Resource Recovery facility, owned by Covanta Energy. The plant began operations in 1986 and is touted by Covanta as its first EfW project.