Poll: More people satisfied with trash system but most want green waste recycled
By ZACK STOYCOFF World Staff Writer
Satisfaction with Tulsa's trash system is growing, but most residents disapprove of incinerating green waste and want refunds for green waste charges, a poll shows.
An Oklahoma Poll of 400 Tulsans conducted Nov. 1-5 indicates that 64.2 percent of likely voters approve of the trash system, up from 55.3 percent a year ago.
As for green waste, 62.6 percent of respondents said they would prefer the city mulch or compost the material as officials intended even if it costs more while 21.6 percent indicated that they approve of burning green waste.
The margin of error is 4.9 percent.
The city began incinerating curbside green waste shortly after the beginning of the new trash system Oct. 1, 2012, because equipment at its mulching plant could not remove the plastic bags in which residents were asked to place the material.
But because the city for months still charged for separate green waste service through 50-cent stickers and a 70-cent monthly fee, some officials have suggested that the city's 116,500 trash customers or at least those who bought stickers be issued refunds, rebates or some other compensation.
City officials said that beginning last month, at least some of the green waste was being manually debagged and disposed of at the city's green waste facility.
Rebecca Jones was among the 60.5 percent of Oklahoma Poll participants who said they think the city should issue refunds, particularly for the monthly fee.
"I was pretty mad about that because they kind of did it underhandedly, and so I think there should be a little bit of payment for that," she said.
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About the Oklahoma Poll
The poll of 401 likely voters was conducted November 1-5 by SoonerPoll.com, using a random digit-dialing technique that included cellphone and landline telephone numbers. Results were weighted by gender, age and party. The poll was sponsored by the Tulsa World. The margin of error is ±4.9 percentage points.
This poll conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. A complete description of the methodology can be found here.
