Recycling among items included in online questionnaire
Bartlesville residents now have an opportunity to weigh in on possible changes to the City of Bartlesville’s solid waste system, which includes services such as yard waste, roadside clean-up and recycling.
The City launched the long-awaited Solid Waste Survey today, Public Works Director Keith Henry said.
“This is something we’ve been looking forward to for some time,” Henry said. “There are several services that fall under the Solid Waste category that some citizens would like to see implemented or changed; yet these services are all associated with increased costs to utility customers. The survey will give us a better idea of which services residents want the most — and which ones they’re willing to pay for.”
The City currently offers a polycart system of trash collection with collection one time per week for all Bartlesville utility customers. Citizens may also drop off items for recycling at the recycling center, located on 10th Street just east of Virginia Avenue. Additional seasonal and temporary programs are offered as well, such as the free yard waste collections and the Osage Landfill voucher.
According to City Manager Mike Bailey, these basic services were determined several years ago and should be revisited.
“When we implemented the polycart system, there was an entire slate of services that were considered,” Bailey said. “At that time, we decided to implement a pretty basic system. We didn’t expand a lot of services because we weren’t sure what the demand would be going into the future. Revisiting that recently, we decided a survey would be a good way to find out how our residents feel about the services we offer.”
The survey questions are aimed at obtaining information not only on what residents want regarding services, but also what they are willing to pay for.
“There is a cost to everything,” Bailey said. “For instance, we have a recycling program today that we can afford under the existing rates. If we expand that to curbside collection, there will be a cost associated with that expanded service. So the question is, what do our citizens want and what are they willing to pay for.”
Residents are asked to weigh in on their preferences and willingness to fund several services, including:
- Roadside clean-up
- Neighborhood clean-up
- Street sweeping
- Bulky waste collection
- Curbside or drop-off recycling
- Landfill voucher/spring and fall clean-up program
- Sticker program (refuse, yard waste)
The survey will be available until June 30. Utility customers will receive a notice of the survey in their upcoming utility bill.
To take the survey, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SYC2MZP.