Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

"Bagman" To Help Educate Residents On Trash Process

A new character will soon be introduced to help educate the public on recycling.

"Bagman", an animated bag of garbage, will soon be unveiled to show what happens to trash from the time it's placed outside for pickup until it reaches its final destination.

The character was introduced at the regular meeting of the Southwest Regional Solid Waste Management District Wednesday, March 15.

The overall objective of the campaign is to motivate residents and small businesses to take their recyclable items to a recycling center or to participate in a curbside recycling program.

At this time, according to Bob Venute, head of the district's recycling program, the campaign is in the planning stages and no firm date has been set for the introduction of "Bagman."

Larry Williams, chairman of the district's board of directors and Garland County Judge, gave an update on the tire recycling program, saying Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith had asked for a truck tire amnesty in order to help get rid of truck tires.

Williams contacted the company the district works with to pick up the tires and was told it is willing to help if the amnesty program is done in April or May.

It was suggested and accepted to piggyback the tire amnesty program with the Pick Up Arkansas campaign.

Smith said this needs to be advertised so the word can get out and these tires be brought in.

Under the current law, when tires are purchased a type of excise tax is placed on them to help cover the cost of having them picked up and recycled.

It costs about $100 per tire for trucks, Smith said, and many drivers simply take the tires with them instead of paying this tax.

The board approved the purchase of a new skidder for the recycling center located in Hot Springs.

Doyle Smith, who heads the program, said the current skidder is used about 16 hours a day and it's hard to get parts for.

Bids will be taken for the new piece of equipment with the current one to be used as a backup. Smith said new skidders cost around $20,000.

Bill Fletcher, with B&F Engineering, informed the panel the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, formerly the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology, said the site of the proposed class I landfill in southern Clark County is acceptable under the pre-application review phase and things are looking good for the next step.

The group, once the meeting had concluded, visited the site of the proposed landfill, located off Lockie Road.

Fletcher said it will take at least two years to permit and develop the site if everything goes well. But, he added, if litigation occurs, there is no telling how long the process would take.

Dennis Burks, division chief with ADEQ, said if everything runs smoothly the permitting process takes about two years.

Fletcher said there is still a lot of work to be done on a landfill after all the permits have been obtained. The site would require engineering and some construction before it could be used.

With this in mind, the board voted to exercise its option to extend its contract with BFI landfill in Little Rock.

The agreement called for a three year contract with two one-year options should the district desire. The board exercised the two one-year options which include no extra costs.

The board hopes it doesn't actually have to build and operate the landfill, but wants the property permitted just in case costs get too expensive in the future.

Plans are to use the permitted property as a bargaining chip with any future landfill companies the district deals with.

At today's prices it would cost between $5 and $8 million to build a landfill and get it operational. The three counties in the district, Clark, Hot Spring and Garland, would also have to pass a joint bond issue to fund this venture.