Environmental notebook
Two counties set up electronics recycling
Residents of Pulaski and Saline counties will be able to recycle old televisions sets and monitors at drives set for Feb. 23, according to a news release from the counties’ solid waste districts.
The Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District in Pulaski County and Recycle Saline in Saline County will host a single electronics recycling drop- off in each county from 8 a. m. until 1 p. m. The districts will collect televisions and “any type of monitor, including computer monitors.”
The service is free and limited to residents. Businesses, schools and other institutions are not included, according to the release.
The districts are state regional solid waste management districts.
Pulaski County residents can take their electronics to eSCO Recycling at 1807 E. 23rd St. in Little Rock, and Saline County residents can take their electronics to 406 Fairfield Road, off I- 30 West in Benton.
Recycling bill keys on extra- large tires
Arkansas lawmakers have approved transferring $ 300,000 to assist state solid waste districts in recycling extra large tires.
House Bill 1362 awaits Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s signature.
The bill moves $ 300,000 from the state’s Marketing Recyclables Program Fund into the Used Tire Recycling Fund.
After legislation regarding used tires in 2017, solid waste districts submitted business plans to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and often claimed extra large tires would cost them several times more to recycle than an average tire. The department approved much smaller amounts for many districts.
The fund transfer would be “temporary language” and not encoded into state law.
Lawmakers propose waste- district audits
Four lawmakers are sponsoring a bill that would require Arkansas Legislative Audit to periodically review the state’s solid waste districts.
House Bill 1459 would require Legislative Audit to randomly select six of the state’s 18 solid waste districts for a “review of selected policies, procedures, and transactions” and determine if they are in compliance with rules.
The audit findings would be presented to the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee and the district.
Legislative Audit already audits solid waste districts’ financial statements.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Grant Hodges, R- Bentonville; Rep. Richard Womack, R- Arkadelphia; and Rep. Nelda Speaks, R- Mountain Home. Sen. Bob Ballinger, R- Hindsville, is listed as a Senate sponsor.
State cleanup event looks for volunteers
The Great American Cleanup in Arkansas runs March through May this year, and Keep Arkansas Beautiful is encouraging groups to get organized.
People can register a local cleanup at https://bit.ly/KABSignUp, according to a news release from the group.
Cleanup coordinators can use Keep Arkansas Beautiful’s promotional materials to get the word out and find additional resources at http://bit.ly/KABClean.
Last year, Keep Arkansas Beautiful volunteers removed nearly 7 million pounds of trash from parks, roadsides and waterways.
Recycling summit geared for students
Students and educators interested in recycling can attend a recycling summit Feb. 28 in Conway, according to a posting from the Arkansas Recycling Coalition.
The coalition is hosting its 2019 Student Environmental and Recycling Summit at Virco Manufacturing Corp. from 9 a. m. to noon. Anyone can attend but must register at www.recycleark.org or by calling ( 866) 290- 1429.
The summit will feature discussions on honey bees, plastics recycling, forestry and other things, according to the posting.
Stream management subject of workshop
Environmental leaders will discuss streams and stream management at a workshop March 2 in Greenland, according to a news release from the Beaver Watershed Alliance.
The workshop, hosted by the alliance, start sat 9 a.m. at the Greenland Community Center.
Presenters from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and Watershed Conservation Resource Center will teach participants about the health of stream banks and buffers and how to prevent erosion, among other things, according to the announcement.
The program is free and includes lunch. Anyone interested in participating must RSVP by contacting Melissa Welch at ( 479) 750- 8007 or melissa@beaverwatershedalliance.org.