Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

District Negotiates With Landfill Provider

A new landfill provider is in the offing for the Southwest Central Regional Solid Waste Management District.

According to Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith, a member of the board, the district, composed of Clark, Garland and Hot Spring counties, will soon be hauling its garbage to a Little Rock area location.

He said two companies are being examined as the landfill provider for the district. One of the companies is BFI, with the landfill located on Mabelvale Pike in Little Rock, with the other being Waste Management, near Jacksonville.

Smith said Waste Management is asking for less tipping fees per ton, but the district has to consider the extra distance involved in the hauling.

Waste Management's bid was about $1 per ton less, but adds a round trip of 38 miles to the haulage of the refuse.

Both landfills appear to be well run and managed, Smith said. Representatives from the district visited both doing impromptu inspections.

One of the district's concerns about the landfills is how much of a delay there will be in getting the trucks emptied and back on the road. One of the landfills, he said, handles more than 200 trucks per day.

The district, he said, should make its decision when the board meets again in May.

In the meantime, the district is looking into the possibility of building its own landfill. Smith said the board has been working to find possible sites in the district where a landfill could be constructed.

Once the location is found, the district will try and get a 30-year option on the land and get the property permitted for a landfill.

However, the district may not build a landfill immediately after getting the property permitted. The permitting process will take about two years as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology both have to give their approval.

In working with BFI and Waste Management for landfill use, Smith said, the district will negotiate a contact for three years with two one-year options. The three year contract will have a fixed rate, while the price on the one-year deals can be adjusted.

The district is currently using the Saline County landfill. However, when the two entities first entered into the agreement, Saline County tried to increase the fees. This led to a lawsuit won by the district.

The contract with Saline County runs out in September. This is the reason the district is seeking another landfill for its garbage.

Smith said with the district getting an option on land for a landfill other companies won't be able to take advantage of it as Saline County attempted to do.

As a test on turnaround time, Smith said, the City of Hot Springs will be hauling garbage to both Waste Management and BFI to see which gets them in and out the fastest. Hot Springs is the single largest creator of garbage in the district.

"The board is pleased with the bids received," Smith said. "We expected the prices to be higher, but they weren't. Companies know we (the board) work together and will do the best we can for the district."

Both bids being examined are about $25 per ton, Smith said. For three years, once a contract is signed, the district will not have an increase in solid waste costs, unless the volume increases.

With the fixed costs in place, the district can also better prepare its annual budget.

Talking about Gurdon, Smith said the city has a good hauler who works to keep the costs down. The only money the Gurdon solid waste budget receives comes from collections on the water and sewer bills, other cities, he said, subsidize their solid waste departments with tax revenues.

Smith said the people of Gurdon need to begin thinking about recycling. A recycling program is anticipated to be in place in about three months, he said.

At first, it will be operated on a voluntary basis.

Recycling at this time, he said, is not profitable. But, he added, for every ton of garbage not hauled away the city saves $92.50. By recycling, items such as glass, paper, plastic and

aluminum are removed from the waste stream and, thereby, saves the city money.