OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — One day after KFOR reported on a woman’s trash troubles in the metro, the City of Oklahoma City removed most of the large pile.

Katrina Gray told KFOR that after a bulky waste request, her trash piled up for months, with little clarity from the city on why they wouldn’t pick it up.

“They [were] telling us different stuff over the phone than they [were] in person [and] I told myself the last time, that if they pass it up next time than I’m going to have no other choice but to put them on the news,” said Katrina.

At some point the City promised a pickup with a letter sent in July, but never took away the trash.

“The pile grew,” said Katrina, while her fiancé said they had done what the City said, but they kept getting passed up.

On Tuesday, a supervisor from Oklahoma City’s Solid Waste Management team visited the property while KFOR was onsite and measured the pile, while another city representative said they were investigating the confusion.

On Wednesday, the couple said they were told that the pile was too wide and too high to haul away without a significant cost.

“[They said] to downsize it, or they were going to charge us $900 [but] they came out and remeasured it this morning,” the couple said.

The new measurements dropped the fee dramatically, and hours later the majority of the large pile was taken away.

In an email to KFOR, the City said it offers bulky waste collection as a courtesy for customers with bulky waste piles that are four cubic yards or less.

Anything over that size requires a fee to be incurred on behalf of the customer:

“When piles are greater than 10 cubic yards, due to the fee being more than $75, we tag the pile with a note documenting there will be a fee to collect the pile and requesting the customer call Utilities Customer Service (UCS) to approve the fee. This is for the customer’s benefit and protection so they don’t receive a large surprise charge on their bill, and so they can approve of the charge or consider other options. When the customer calls UCS, they are given the fee total and provided with options to approve the fee for collection of the entire pile, or they may elect to have only four cubic yards of the pile collected as a courtesy and choose a disposal method of their choice for the remaining bulky waste. They may also elect to not have the pile collected by the City and choose a disposal method of their choice.”

Jasmine Sievert, Public Information & Marketing Manager
City of Oklahoma City Utilities Department

Katrina’s family is planning to keep the wood and will be responsible for relocating it on their own.

As for the rest of the pile that was taken away, it’s one less headache for Katrina.

“[I’m] relieved. A lot of pressure was lifted off of my shoulders,” she said.

Oklahoma City offers installment plans for customers who are billed for bulky waste collection.

Customers with questions can call Utilities Customer Service (UCS) to discuss their eligibility for an installment plan: 405-297-2833.