Regional recycling study highlights need to get data

SPRINGDALE — Information is a primary ingredient in efforts to expand recycling in Northwest Arkansas, according to a new report presented to the region’s solid waste districts Thursday.

“This is laying some good groundwork to help us identify some areas we can take steps in immediately,” Robin Reed, director of the Boston Mountain Solid Waste District, said after the presentation. “We need to do things like resident and customer surveys and work on getting better information from some of the waste haulers on what materials they’re handling, how much and what’s being done with it. We really don’t have good numbers.”

Staff and board members for the Benton County and Boston Mountain solid waste districts were briefed on ways to increase and improve recycling by John Culbertson, vice president of MSW Consultants. The firm was hired to study recycling in Northwest Arkansas about two years ago, Reed said, but the work was delayed by the covid-19 pandemic.

Culbertson said the study adhered to the guiding principles of considering recycling methods that have been shown to be affordable and

financially sound, using techniques proven successful elsewhere and that are non-coercive.

Culbertson said the region needs to gather accurate data on the types, quantities and quality of material being recycled so plans for a regional approach can be formulated. He said identifying a source of large quantities of good material that can be sustained over time will lower the costs of a regional recycling program.

“It’s hard to get the scale and efficiency with everybody doing their own thing,” he said.

Culbertson said the recycling market seems to be rebounding from the decision by China in 2017 and 2018 to essentially shut off that country’s importation of recyclable material from North America.

“There has been an amazing recovery in the value of recycled materials in the last month or two,” he said.

Culbertson said the study looks at the traditional recycling material such as paper, plastic and glass, along with organic waste — food waste and yard waste — and construction and demolition material. He said there’s activity in all three areas in Northwest Arkansas, but no standardization of programs among the cities, the solid waste districts and area businesses.

“The question is how do you get the region to come together,” he said.

Wendy Bland, director of the Benton County Solid Waste District, agreed more cooperation and more information is needed. She said the district is advertising for requests for proposals to do a 10-year needs assessment. The assessment should be done early in 2022, Bland said.

“It’s going to look at things like recycling, household hazardous waste collection, landfilling, and organics,” Bland said. “It’s going to detail our existing facilities and programs and look at what we might need. We’re going to let the needs assessment dictate where we go from here.”