Landfill expansion plan draws feedback

SPRINGDALE — About a dozen residents who attended a public hearing Wednesday on the planned expansion of the landfill in Tontitown wanted to know how adding 72 acres of waste collection to the site will affect them.

Most questions went unanswered after a presentation from representatives of Waste Management, which owns and operates the Eco-Vista Landfill serving most of Northwest Arkansas. The Boston Mountain Solid Waste District hosted the meeting at Har-Ber High School as a way to relay feedback to the district’s board and give Waste Management an opportunity to present the plan. Attendees who signed in will get follow-up answers, said Robyn Reed, director of the solid waste district.

“This is the only landfill we have in our district and in Northwest Arkansas,” she said. “It’s very important that we’re good stewards with the space that is available.”

The plan would expand the surface area of the landfill by 72 acres over the next five years. About 12 of the acres would be dedicated to bulky construction waste, with the rest for household waste. Waste Management owns 609 acres in the area and uses about 109 of them. The expansion would stay within the bounds of the property.

Danny and Marilyn Beaver, who have lived southeast of the site since 2004, said they’ve experienced flooding and property damage since the landfill last expanded a decade ago. Retention ponds at the site fill up and the water flows downhill to the couple’s property, the two said.

It was a different story when they first moved in, Danny Beaver said.

“Marilyn said at the time, ‘Boy it’s a shame we don’t get any water coming down. That would be pretty,’” he said.

The site will fill up within about 5 ½ years at current capacity, according to the presentation. Expansion would cover waste collection through 2049.

George Wheatley, Waste Management spokesman, said the company is an open book. The company’s business model is varied, he said, and includes research and development and recycling. The company explores sustainable measures even though it runs 200 landfills in North America because they are the most viable way to handle trash, he said.

“Our job is not only to take care of the environment and take care of the planet, but we’ve got to try to do it in a way where we make a little bit of money in the process,”

he said. “If we’re able to do that, then we continue.”

Peter Nierengarten, sustainability director for Fayetteville, said the city wants to make sure diverting waste from the landfill continues to be a part of the conversation going forward. The city has a seat on the solid waste district’s board and hasn’t signed off yet on a plan to expand.

“We’re interested in hearing public comment and seeing what the public process looks like,” he said.