Grant to aid NWA Council’s recycling, sustainability push

The Northwest Arkansas Council plans to use a Walmart Foundation grant to try to increase recycling awareness and participation throughout the region.

Rob Smith, infrastructure and policy director for the council, said the grant allows NWA Recycles to continue tracking how much is being recycled and create trial programs for different sustainability efforts.

According to the council, more than 45,000 tons of recyclables were collected in Northwest Arkansas in 2022. The report with 2023 figures will be released this spring, Smith said.

The trial programs are implemented through “measurable goals committees” and target four main issues, Smith said. These include glass recycling, food waste management, hauler incentives and recycling opportunities at community events.

Smith said one goal includes measuring the amount of recyclable material collected at events throughout the year.

Taylor Osburn, sustainability coordinator for the Boston Mountain Solid Waste District, said she is working with the council to help with event waste management by providing recycling and trash receptacles and hauling services.

She said the district, which serves Madison and Washington counties, processes a variety of recyclables, including electronic waste, household hazardous waste and the “core four” recyclables: paper, plastic bottles, cardboard and aluminum cans.

“So from an ecological standpoint, it just makes sense to use what we already have at our fingertips,” Osburn said about why people should recycle. “When we use what we already have available, then we don’t have to go back into the Earth and dig for those resources, and that saves on pollution that saves on greenhouse gas emissions.”

Osburn said many people choose to recycle for the ecological reasons but also to preserve resources for future generations. This point is especially important to Osburn, as she said Northwest Arkansas faces a landfill crisis.

“Our one landfill in Northwest Arkansas is filling up, and we won’t be able to build another one in Northwest Arkansas,” Osburn said. “We can preserve that space by reducing waste by reusing and by recycling.”

The Eco-Vista landfill in Tontitown has been Northwest Arkansas’ only licensed public landfill since 1980. The landfill has obtained permission to expand, though the city of Tontitown is appealing that permit.

“The people who work in recycling for cities, the solid waste districts and companies in Northwest Arkansas want to do more, and it’s been great to see them come together and share challenges and ideas,” said Nelson Peacock, Northwest Arkansas Council president and CEO, in a statement.

“What’s new with this grant is an effort to conduct material tracking in the region’s landfills. With our landfill space in Northwest Arkansas and in neighboring regions becoming more limited by the day, we must do more to preserve landfill space for waste that truly needs to be buried,” he said.

The council collaborates with schools, policymakers, waste management workers and industry experts, all of which Osburn said are vital to increasing recycling efforts in the region.

Smith said other efforts being taken include increasing composting in schools and glass recycling in downtown areas.

The district is working on increasing hauler incentives to bring recycling to more rural communities, but Osburn said it is in the preliminary stages.

“It’s really important to know that there are multiple key players in multiple fields that are working really hard towards these regional recycling goals and waste reduction goals,” Osburn said. “We’re just at the beginning, and that’s a really exciting thing.”