New Fayetteville Recycling Containers Go In

STAFF PHOTO DAVID GOTTSCHALK Sequoia Lansford, with the Fayetteville Recycling and Trash Collection Division, places bolts to secure a new recycling container for plastic, glass and cans Monday on the square in Fayetteville. Nine recycling containers are being placed on the square for use.
STAFF PHOTO DAVID GOTTSCHALK Sequoia Lansford, with the Fayetteville Recycling and Trash Collection Division, places bolts to secure a new recycling container for plastic, glass and cans Monday on the square in Fayetteville. Nine recycling containers are being placed on the square for use.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Just in time for Earth Day.

The city's Recycling and Trash Collection Division installed nine recycling containers on the downtown square Monday.

Waste Audit

A waste audit by the Fayetteville Recycling and Trash Collection Division determined that plastic bottles and aluminum cans were the recyclable materials that were being thrown away the most in trash receptacles on the downtown square.

Tons CollectedRevenue Generated
Cardboard1,925$208,505
Plastic252$107,083
Aluminum57$98,087
Newspaper754$50,415
Mixed Paper952$31,889
Steel Cans110$24,368
Scrap Metal73$11,070
Chipboard206$4,286
Glass*1,357$0

*Fayetteville’s recycled glass is collected by a Kansas City, Mo.-based company called Ripple Glass. It doesn’t cost the city anything to transport the glass, and the city doesn’t receive any revenue from sales of the recycled glass.
Source: Fayetteville Recycling and Trash Collection Division

Residents will be able to throw away plastic bottles and aluminum cans during the Fayetteville Farmers' Market, First Thursday and other downtown events.

"The whole goal of this is to make it more convenient for people to recycle when they're on the go," said Brian Pugh, waste reduction coordinator.

Pugh said the city used to have recycling containers on the square several years ago, but they didn't work. They didn't stand out from trash receptacles, he explained. And people kept throwing food scraps and other waste in with recyclable materials.

The new containers will be different, Pugh said. Their slots aren't much bigger than a plastic bottle. They'll clearly say "Bottles & Cans" and will have pictures of what can be recycled. Placards will display logos for Keep Fayetteville Beautiful and the city's "Recycle Something" campaign.

"We tried really hard to get containers that would be identifiable as recycling containers and not trash containers," Pugh said.

Containers also will be placed in front of the City Administration Building at Lake Fayetteville trailheads, outside the baseball fields at Walker Park and at the Gary Hampton Softball Complex.

The 25 containers cost the city $20,000. Pugh said he hopes to eventually add more.

Also this week, the city division will distribute its first indoor recycling bins to tenants of the North Creekside Apartments on Leverett Avenue.

photo

STAFF DAVID GOTTSCHALK Bins designed for apartment recycling use were displayed Monday at the Fayetteville Recycling and Trash Collection Division in Fayetteville. The City of Fayetteville Recycling and Trash Collection Division will be handing out indoor recycling bins to tenants at the North Creekside Apartments in Fayetteville. The bins will have information on them about what to recycleg and contact information for the division. The idea is to make it as convenient as possible for apartment dwellers to get recyclables from their units to large containers on site. They also serve as a visual reminder of recycling in an effort to get people in the habit.

Alderman Mark Kinion, whose ward includes North Creekside, said the 6-gallon bins should encourage apartment dwellers to recycle.

"If you can take your pail of recyclables to the container outside ... you're more likely to recycle," Kinion said.

"Anything that streamlines the process, makes it more convenient and less messy, is going to mean that more recyclables are diverted from our landfill," said Sarah King, marketing and community outreach coordinator for Specialized Real Estate Group, the company that manages the 195-unit apartment complex. "We've already had great response to the city's recycling station, and I think that the addition of these bins is going to increase participation even more."

The bins were purchased using a $30,000 grant from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. There's no cost to North Creekside management. If bins are lost, they'll be replaced using money withheld from tenants' security deposits.

Pugh said the city will also provide indoor bins at four other 100-plus unit apartment complexes that receive city recycling services: The Links at Fayetteville, Maple Manor Hill Place and The Cliffs.

Both initiatives are part of an effort to divert 80 percent of the city's trash from the Eco-Vista Landfill in Tontitown by 2025.

City officials plan to hire a consultant later this year to create a solid waste reduction, diversion and recycling master plan. The plan will identify what it would take to reach an 80 percent diversion rate.

NW News on 04/22/2014

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