FARMINGTON — The state’s new solid waste chief gave the Boston Mountain Solid Waste District Board of Directors and staff some praise and a little warning.
“I think the Boston Mountain Solid Waste District is very proactive in helping the state achieve its goal of diverting waste from the landfill,” said Roger Lawrence, chief of the solid waste division at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
The state’s goal is to reduce waste taken to landfills by 45 percent through recycling and reduction, Lawrence said. Lawrence made his ninth stop of 18 in Farmington on Friday as part of a statewide tour to meet all waste district boards.
“We’re going to hold our facilities accountable,” Lawrence said. “We’re going to hold our state team accountable.”
Part of that accountability is to stop state inspectors from rubber-stamping inspections of district transfer stations, Lawrence said. He told the district not to expect perfect scores for a while.
A transfer station is the gathering point which communities and individuals can dump trash to be collected and hauled to the landfill. Inspectors look at the cleanliness of transfer stations and whether the stations maintain necessary safety equipment and procedures, said Maylon Rice, the district’s director.
Inspection reports were not available through the department’s website, but Rice said the district’s West Washington Transfer station has received perfect scores in recent years.
“The commission, the public, everybody wanting to do something in your district is governed by the plan you put together,” Lawrence said.
Ten-year plans were originally submitted by the districts to the department in 2005 but were hardly looked at, said Susan Speake, department branch manager.
“We really did the district a disservice because we didn't review them,” Speake said. “We just checked that we got them in.”
The state asked the district to clarify 30 pieces of information written in the 158 page document.
Rice said the district will begin working on a new 10-year plan in the coming years that will be easier to understand for the district’s customers.
“The lay person will be able to pick it up and read it and understand what services we’re offering, what services are planned and to show our funding,” he said.