Eureka Springs has a unique and free garbage collection program designed to encourage recycling and reduce the waste that goes into a landfill. Landfill space is expensive, no one wants a landfill in their neighborhood, and the EPA says that all landfills eventually leak.
Eureka Springs has a contract with the Carroll County Solid Waste (CCSW) that stipulates residential customers must purchase special yellow bags in order to have their garbage picked up. The small, 15-gallon bags cost $7 for 20. The large, 33-gallon bags cost $9 for 12 bags. By contrast, 33-gallon black bags at a local store cost $8 for 20 bags.
Some residents have complained to city council about the cost of the yellow bags.
Executive Director Phil Jackson said the yellow bag provision was in the contract when CCSW took over the city’s collection.
“If residents are concerned about yellow bags, they need to talk on that matter to the city of Eureka Springs through the mayor,” Jackson said. “When we took the contract over, we just rolled the previous rules into the contract. Each city has a different contract. We are just contracted to pick it up depending on whatever the city decides on. The citizens in Eureka Springs, but not the businesses, can buy the yellow bags, and we pick them up no matter if you have one or 50 bags. We won’t pick up black bags from residences because that would be breaking our contract with the city. If we take the black bags, they get irritated with us. And the city gets all the revenue from sales of the yellow bags.”
Gary Gray, recycling operations manager for CCSW said every town served is different.
“All we are really doing is fulfilling the contracts,” Gray said. “Berryville has a one 30-gallon bag limit per week to encourage recycling. Anywhere served by CCSW, recycling is offered. We do really well for a small county. About four million pounds of recycling goes through the recycling facility in Eureka Springs every year. We process it there.”
Gray said the county is fortunate to have an excellent recycling program.
“We have a great recycling program compared to lots of places in Arkansas,” Gray said. “A lot of communities in Arkansas have modeled their program after our recycling program.”
One problem for the people who sort the recyclable materials is the number of items put into the green recycling bins that can’t be recycled.
“Anything not recyclable ends up in the trash,” Gray said. “It costs us money and time if people don’t do it right. Everything is hand sorted. Four or five guys stand on the recycling line and hand sort everything that is picked up. Then we have to pay to dispose of the trash.”
The most common items placed in the bins that can’t be recycled are what Gray calls “junk plastic”: butter tubs, plastic yogurt containers, flowerpots, plastic bags, and plastic containers for salads and fruit. Only plastic bottles like milk jugs, soda or water bottles and shampoo containers can be recycled. They must be stamped with either #1 or #2 plastic.
Plate glass and dishes can’t be recycled with glass bottles. Cardboard can’t be placed in bins, but you can call the office at (479) 253-2727 to have cardboard picked up on third Fridays, or cardboard can be taken to the recycling center on the east side of town.
Other items that are recycled include newspapers and magazines either bundled and tied with a string or placed in a plastic bag.
Gray, who has been doing this job for more than 20 years, said he would love it if they could take more types of materials for recycling. An example would be Styrofoam.
“We can only process what we can get rid of,” Gray said. “I’ve tried different markets, but only number one and two plastics are really sustainable.”
CCSW has programs to encourage recycling because of the benefits to the environment.
“Landfill space is very valuable,” Gray said. “It costs more than $1 million to develop a cell. Landfills are so regulated these days, requiring liners and a leachate separator. They are much more advanced than they used to be in order to protect our water. In our karst environment, contamination can get into the water table pretty fast.”
Jackson said while just about anything can be recycled, transporting it to industries that recycle the materials is a matter of cost.
“There are industries in California that can recycle a lot of things, but we just can’t afford to ship there,” Jackson said. “A lot of people would like to recycle everything they can, but there is not a market here for many things that are potentially recyclable because of the prices.”
The CCSW contract with Eureka Springs will come up for renewal next on October 17, 2023 and run for five years.
CCSW was established in late 1981, and started handling waste management activities for Eureka Springs, Berryville, Green Forest and the county in the early 1990s. CCSW allowed more efficient handling of solid waste in a more comprehensive manner while taking advantage of economies of scale that resulted from separate entities working together as one unit.