Ecology-minded residents of Fort Smith who have been diligent in separating their recyclables from the rest of their trash since mid-winter got dumped on Monday afternoon.
Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Gefken confirmed a rumor that has been circulated on social media since late February.
Despite the best efforts to segment plastic, bottles, glass, newsprint and other renewable items from just your everyday run of the mill refuse, passionate recycling enthusiasts learned they have been wasting their time.
The sanitation department has just been dumping everything into the same hole and covering it up for the past six months.
Citizens don’t know whether to be chagrined about the lack of recycling that has occurred or what they feel is a colossal waste of their time.
The city is asking residents to maintain their separating habits in the hope that a short time solution can rectify the situation while they come up with a viable long time fix for the problem.
For 22 years, Fort Smith has operated with a two trash can system for those who wish to participate in the recycling efforts. Citizens were asked to place the following items into special marked “recycling only” bins:
• Newsprint, office paper, magazines, phone books, brochures, notebook paper, envelopes, soft cover booklets, manila folders, card stock
• Corrugated cardboard (broken down, flattened)
• Chipboard (cereal boxes, cracker boxes, etc.)
• Aluminum and steel cans
• Plastics with the number 1, 2, 4, or 7 inside the recycling logo
• Glossy magazines and catalogs
• Newspaper
• Corrugated cardboard (broken down, flatten)
According to the press release by Gefken, a series of events left the sanitation crews at the landfill with no choice but to mix the good with the bad.
The problem stems from a lack of a single stream recycling facility owned by the city.
When the sales price for recycled material took a downturn in 2016 it no longer became profitable for the company that had the contract at the time to transport materials to their Clarksville location.
Two other companies submitted proposals to furnish the service. Only one submitted a bid that would have covered acceptance of co-mingled recyclables and the cost would have been more than the option of just placing everything into the landfill together.
Estimate cost to fix the situations would result in upwards of $230,000 in lost revenue for the city. The city is now negotiating with a second firm in an effort to return to the early 2016 recycling program without having to add additional fees to the $13.52 per month sanitation rate.
Another option being considered for the long term is the construction of a city-owned recycling facility that could take in materials from across the area and operate as a revenue source.
