Household waste heads to Saline County
City and county household waste will be disposed of at the Saline County Regional Solid Waste Facility in Bauxite starting Tuesday, a move expected to lower transportation costs and save time.
Hot Springs and Garland County’s degradable waste mostly goes to the Two Pines Landfill owned and operated by Waste Management of Arkansas Inc. in North Little Rock. The waste disposal agreement the Southwest Central Regional Solid Waste Management District entered into with WMA in 2012 also provides access to the Jefferson County landfill at a higher cost, with tipping fees of $18.60 per ton compared to $17.49 for the North Little Rock facility.
In addition to the city and county, the regional solid waste district includes Arkadelphia and Hot Spring County.
The contract that takes effect Tuesday with Republic Services Inc. includes tipping fees of $19.25 per
ton, increasing to $38.56 during holidays. City and county officials have said the shorter trip to Saline County should offset the new contract’s higher fees. The city and county budgeted $850,000 and $740,000, respectively, from their solid waste funds for 2019 landfill fees.
City and county trucks make multiple trips daily from transfer stations and the county’s Cedar Glades Landfill to North Little Rock, a round trip of more than three hours. The Cedar Glades facility’s Class 4 designation allows it to accept construction and demolition debris, appliances, furniture and other bulky items. It’s not permitted for degradable waste, requiring the city and county to take their garbage to Class 1 facilities outside the county.
Former County Judge Rick Davis said last year that an analysis showed the solid waste district would save money using the Saline County landfill despite the higher tipping fees. The district’s board of directors unanimously approved the agreement with Republic in March 2018.
The Garland County Quorum Court Environmental Services, Public Works and Buildings Committee advanced an ordinance earlier this month aimed at offsetting the higher fees, raising the hauling fee for Class 1 waste from $34 a ton to $37.
The county said the increase won’t affect rates for its more than 20,000 residential accounts. Those rates will remain at $16.50 a month. Individuals bringing Class 1 waste to the county landfill will be charged $37 per ton if the quorum court endorses the rate increase.
County Judge Darryl Mahoney said the increase would also affect Mountain Pine and Hot Springs Village. They contract the county to haul their degradable waste to Class 1 landfills.