Recycling Center Revenue Falls

New Manager Vows To Improve Cash Flow

By John Gore

Posted: December 12, 2009 at 3:55 a.m.

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ROGERS — The new superintendent of the recycling center, a former Marine, is using his military background and his commitment to the environment to move the recycling program forward.

Jerrold Haley replaced Dave Hadsell in October after Hadsell was terminated in connection with safety violations.

Haley, spent four years in the Marines before going to the recycling business with a local electronic recycling company two years ago. He left the electronic company mid-October to become supervisor at the city recycling center.

His uses his military training to solve problems and keep his eye on the goal — limiting recyclable material going to the landfill and making the center self sufficient, he said.

“We’re not making enough revenue to meet expenses, but I’ll do what it takes to get us there,” Haley said.

The new center at 2300 North Arkansas St. opened in August. The center recycles cardboard, white paper, newspapers, glass, plastics, aluminum and tin cans as well as polystyrene foam, known under the brand name Styrofoam. The material is sold companies that recycle the material back into useful products.

“The more recyclable material we can keep out of the landfill lowers the impact on the landfill and our environment,” Haley said.

Polystyrene is not biodegradable and lasts forever in a landfill, Haley said.

“We use a chipper machine to reduce Styrofoam into smaller pieces then compress it into a block. I’m hoping when we get a semi-truck load ready we might be able to sell it to Rasta Corp. They make construction blocks with 85 percent Styrofoam and 15 percent concrete,” Haley said.

According to the Rasta Web site, the insulating concrete forms made from polystyrene are structurally strong; energy-efficient; sound absorbent; non-combustible; and resistant to high wind, mold and pests.

Most of the polystyrene the center recycles comes from boat docks on Beaver Lake, Haley said.

The amount of recycled material going through the center is somewhat more than 2008 at the old plant, said David Hook, Rogers facilities development manager. While tonnage is up, revenue is down because the recycling market is volatile and changes quickly, Hook added.

“Last year in December we were getting $120 a ton for cardboard. In January the price dropped to $20 a ton. It back up to around $90 a ton now,” Hook said.

More cardboard is recycled at the center than any of the other items collected, Hook said.

The price fluctuates for aluminum cans, newsprint, white paper and plastic, Hook said.

“Glass remain pretty constant,” Hook said. “Recycled glass isn’t worth much, but it’s better than putting into a landfill.”

Mayor Steve Womack calls recycling a serious regional issue because the area only has one landfill and at some point that landfill will be full.

“Anything you can do to divert waste from the landfill, the longer the life of the landfill,” Womack said.

“I shudder to think that some day the landfill that services the Northwest Arkansas region will be full and we will have to find a way to ship our waste some other place,” Womack said.

The recycling program is so important, Womack said, the city will continue to support the recycling center even if the center operates at a deficit.

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