Rows and rows of blue recycling bins are stacked and lined up at the Fayetteville Compost Facility in south Fayetteville. City officials, funding partners and employees from the Recycling and Trash Collection Division came together to celebrate the rollout of a new recycling system for Fayetteville on June 1. The city will transition from curb sort to a single-stream cart.
Mayor Molly Rawn says the continued growth of Fayetteville means there's a responsibility to grow public services at the same time.
"Modernizing our recycling system has been a major priority over the past 18 months, because we quickly realized that our existing setup was not built for the scale and the pace of growth that we're experiencing across our city and region."
Brian Pugh is the waste reduction manager for the city. He says one major advantage of the new system will be an improved work environment for the recycling collection staff.
"The old program — driver safety was poor, with being outside the truck and all those weather conditions and traffic and the moving in and out of the trucks, experiencing slips and trips and sprains. We had an injury rate three times higher than our non-recycling collection positions. The new system will have decreased worker injuries due to drivers spending more time in the trucks and away from the environmental hazards. The old system had a high employee turnover, as the recycling driver position had a 50% turnover rate per year. The new system will have increased worker retention due to making their jobs safer."
Another advantage Pugh points out includes an overall increase in the amount of recyclable materials collected, which will lead to more landfill diversion. Collection will also happen more rapidly. The trucks will collect materials the same way trash trucks do. With that extending arm, you know, that grabs the bin, dumps it in at the top.
Pugh says this will decrease the average stop time to just seven seconds.
"But the one thing that is going to stay the same and that we're going to prioritize is the transparency of where our materials go and how they get marketed, because I know that is something that is core to our beliefs here in Fayetteville, and we are not changing that."
There are a few habits that Fayetteville residents may need to change with the new single-stream bins. All materials must be inside the blue can to be collected. That means no more folding up your cardboard boxes and setting them on the ground. And while the same types of materials will continue to be collected — cardboard, paper, plastics No. 1 and 2, aluminum and steel — glass will not be going in those bins. The city will continue to collect glass, but it will be done separately, twice a month, in those green bins currently used for recycling.
Peter Nierengarten serves as the environmental director of Fayetteville. He says it's important to celebrate the rollout of the new system, but this work is much more than that.
"It represents our ongoing commitment to cleaner neighborhoods, safer and more efficient collection services, and a recycling system that is easier and more accessible for residents and businesses across our city."
Nierengarten says this change from curbside pickup with the little green bins to the single-stream blue bins may seem like a simple change, but it's strategic.
"By increasing participation, by reducing contamination, by improving route efficiency and capturing more recyclable materials, this program will play a measurable role in advancing our waste minimization and climate action goals. Simply put, everyday actions like rolling a cart to the curb truly add up."
City officials say delivery of the carts to Fayetteville residents has already begun, but curb-sorting collection will continue through the end of May. You can find resources and more details about the new single-stream recycling program at fayetteville-ar.gov.
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