Tulsa Standard

City Using Multiple Avenues to Clean, Beautify Tulsa 

To celebrate Earth Month in April, Tulsans can participate in the third annual Great Tulsa Clean-Up, an excellent opportunity to get involved and give back to the community.

The event, which stems from the annual Creek Cleanup event, which has run for more than 25 years, will take place during the entire month of April. Groups of friends, coworkers or neighbors can go online at www.cityoftulsa.org/cleanup to sign up on the dashboard for the day, time, and location that their group would like to clean. Volunteers for this event will receive a free T-shirt.

City staff have selected 29 different locations all around Tulsa that groups may choose from for their clean-up project. Residents who would like to clean up a different location are encouraged to send an email to Stormwaterquality@cityoftulsa.org to verify that location. Groups that have registered for the Great Tulsa Clean-Up should look for an email with details about checking out supplies for this event. Supplies that are checked out will need to be returned within 48 hours of each cleaning event. 

City of Tulsa Trash Facts

While the Great Tulsa Cleanup is just one event that helps clean Tulsa’s waterways, parks, and green spaces, the City of Tulsa budgets for trash cleanup well beyond this event, with robust programs and staffing as a result.

Currently, the City’s Asset Management department has two-full time employees, as well as 20-25 full-time contractors, whose job is to clean up trash and litter. These crews are in addition to the City’s A Better Way crews and three trash cleanup crews from the Center for Employment Opportunities.

When it comes to Illegal Dumping, the City has Citation Writing Inspectors, as well as a Senior Environmental Enforcement employee who works with the Tulsa Police Department, Working In Neighborhoods Department, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office on Illegal Dumping cases. Punishment for Illegal Dumping can include a fine of $500 dollars and possibly jail time – a decision that is made by a judge.

For residents, the best way to report trash in Tulsa is through the City’s Customer Care Center, or 311. Residents can report trash and illegal dumping by using the Tulsa 311 app, emailing tulsa311@cityoftulsa.org, or by calling 311 during normal business hours.

The following represents just some of the ways the City is working to beautify and clean up trash in Tulsa: 

A Better Way
In March, the City of Tulsa celebrated the 5-year anniversary of A Better Way, a program brought to Tulsa through the leadership of Mayor Bynum that provides an alternative to panhandling by offering participants a day’s wages to beautify the community while connecting them to essential services. Through this innovative program, the first in Oklahoma, more than 242 tons of trash have been collected from City parks and facilities, all while serving more than 2,800 individuals and providing them the help they need. The program continues to this day, and the City provides $200,000 yearly for the program, a 300% increase in funding since the program started in 2018.

Adopt a Spot
The City of Tulsa has a new and innovative program where residents can Adopt a Spot to help keep Tulsa cleaner. Residents are asked to pull together their own group of volunteers to clean and care for a park, median, or right-of-way on a long-term basis. Several benefits of the program are offered. To learn more, visit www.cityoftulsa.org/adoptaspot.

Bulky Waste Pickup
As part of the City of Tulsa’s residential trash program, Bulky Waste Pickup is offered for anyone who has items too large to fit inside their gray trash cart. The program helps reduce illegal dumping instances in Tulsa. For more information, visit https://www.cityoftulsa.org/bulkywaste.

Downtown Tulsa Trash Pickup
The Downtown Tulsa Ambassador Team works seven days a week to ensure Downtown is clean, vibrant, and welcoming to everyone. Their goal is to improve Downtown with enhanced cleaning, safety, and beautification services, which are made possible by Downtown Tulsa property and business owners. The team works hand-in-hand with the City of Tulsa and the region’s service and outreach organizations to aid Tulsa’s most vulnerable populations.

Highway Trash Collection
In 2022, City of Tulsa crews collected more than 150 tons of trash from nearly 150 miles of Tulsa’s highways. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) also has a litter hotline where anyone can call to report littering:1-888-5-LITTER (1-888-554-8837). More information on the program can be found online.

Household Pollutant Collection Facility
The City of Tulsa Household Pollutant Collection Facility is a year-round facility open to residential customers. The facility takes household pollutants that would otherwise be thrown away, illegally discarded, or otherwise. For more information, visit www.cityoftulsa.org/hpcf.
Illegal Dumping in Tulsa
The City of Tulsa works year-round to combat Illegal Dumping sites and educate the public about the proper ways to dispose of trash. To report an illegal dump site, please email tulsa311@cityoftulsa.org or call 311 during business hours.

Neighborhood Dumpster Program
The City of Tulsa's Neighborhood Dumpster Program is a service available to registered neighborhood associations to perform neighborhood clean-up activities. Participating groups can make use of 30-yard containers to dispose of eligible household items twice a year. More information can be found online.

Trash, Junk and Debris
Trash, junk and debris cannot be left in the yard and must be disposed of properly. This includes junk such as auto parts, appliances, furniture, building materials and tires; trash such as paper, cardboard, plastics, etc. and debris such as tree trimmings and limbs. For nuisance code violations, residents can report trash, junk and debris on private property by using the Tulsa 311 app, emailing tulsa311@cityoftulsa.org, or by calling 311 during normal business hours. 

Original source can be found here