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Utilities

Know which utilities are your responsibility. Check your lease or ask your landlord. Find out if the utilities will be turned on when you arrive. It is important to get the utilities turned on or transferred into tenants’ names. Some utilities have fees that you must pay in order to turn the service back on and a transfer of service can help you avoid these fees. Ask the landlord if it is possible to directly transfer the utilities to your name and avoid unnecessary fees.

Paying Utilities with Roommates

If you are in a house or apartment in which you are responsible for setting up and paying utilities, you may have to decide how you will split up the utility payments with your roommates in a way that is fair and doesn't burden any particular person. Students choose to handle this situation in many different ways.

Regardless of how pay for utilities, ideally the utility bills will not all be in one person’s name. If someone does not pay their share of the bills one month, you do not want the burden to fall on the same person.

In addition, setting up a utility bill in your name helps build credit, so take this opportunity to build your credit and learn how to pay bills on time.

  1. Joint Account: One option is to set up a joint account between all roommates. All roommates should contribute an equal amount to the account at the beginning of the year or semester and then use the account to pay all utility bills.
  2. App/Website: There are several apps and sites that provide tracking, reminders, and easy payments between roommates. A quick web search should yield several options.
  3. Splitting Services: Some roommates decide to each take on one utility and then "settle up" at the end of each month. This method requires some additional trust in your roommates to get bills paid on time.

Recycling

All citizens of Oxford, including students, are expected to responsibly recycle as much waste material as possible. House units should use the red bin that is supplied by the City of Oxford. Apartment units should check with their property managers to find out if a recycling option is available.

Curbside Recycling

Rumpke operates a curbside recycling program under contract with the City of Oxford.

Use the Red Bin

Each residence with four units or fewer may recycle at the curb. Each unit in the residence should have a red bin for recycling. If a red bin is not left at your location, call the Oxford Utility Division at 513-524-5221 to request one and they will deliver it to you.

Important: Recycling containers belong to Rumpke Recycling and should be left at the residence when a customer moves out.

Pick-up Day

Recycling is collected on the same day as your household trash collection. Place the recycle bin near your garbage containers on your scheduled pickup day. If you have materials to recycle in excess of what fits in the bin, you may use regular garbage containers if the word RECYCLE appears prominently on the container.

Learn More about Trash and Litter
Acceptable Materials
  • Paper: newspaper, magazines, cardboard, mixed office paper and envelopes, paperboard (cereal boxes), pizza boxes free of food debris and grease, telephone books and catalogs.
  • Paper Cups (remove/discard lids, straws and stoppers): Fast food beverage cups, coffee cups, Dixie cups
  • Plastic Bottles (empty, crush, and reattach lid): Bottles and jugs that have a small mouth and wider base, such as milk jugs, soda bottles, laundry detergent bottles, water bottles, shampoo bottles and contact solution bottles.
  • Plastic Tubs: Containers for butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, Jello and fruit slices would fall into the tub category. Lids should be reattached prior to recycling.
  • Plastic Cups (remove/discard straw, reattach lid): Fast food beverage cups.
  • Cans: aluminum, steel, and bi-metal cans from beverages, food, soup
  • Glass: bottles and jars from food and beverages.
  • Cartons: food and beverage cartons, such as milk, juice, soup, wine, broth and other cartons.

In general, these types of materials are acceptable in Rumpke Recycling's residential programs. For a comprehensive list of acceptable items visit Rumpke Recycling.

Non-Accceptable Materials
  • Oil jugs, plastic bags, film
  • Styrofoam
  • Paint cans, coat hangers, steel scrap
  • Window or drinking glass, broken glass, light bulbs

For assistance with trash problems, contact the Oxford Utilities Department at 513-524-5221 or visit the City of Oxford's Curbside Recycling. 

Utility Contact Information

In preparing for your move, it's typically best to call for utility set up a couple of weeks in advance, as many people will be trying to set up utilities in a short amount of time surrounding your move-in day.