The Eureka Springs City Council will hold a workshop to discuss possible changes to the city’s recycling program.
Staff from Carroll County Regional Solid Waste Management District attended the city council meeting on Monday, Oct. 9, and brought examples of two cart-type containers the city could use if it ever does away with the longtime yellow trash bag option for recyclables.
Public works director Simon Wiley said he and council member Autumn Slane recently met with solid waste officials to learn about the city’s options.
“We talked about these yellow bags and one of our biggest issues with the yellow bags is I’ve only got one supplier that I’ve been able to locate that will make the bags for us,” Wiley said. “If we lose that supplier, we lose the yellow bags essentially. If we lose Hart’s we’re essentially losing the bags.”
Some city council members said they prefer the yellow bags — or any kind of trash bag — to the carts. Other council members liked the idea of switching to the carts.
“We could just offer these cans, these containers, to the people that want them, that don’t want to use the yellow bags,” council member Harry Meyer said.
There could be a fee increase for the new containers depending on what size the city opted to use, solid waste staff said. The two options presented at the meeting were a 35-gallon cart and a 65 gallon cart.
“The yellow bag program was adopted to encourage recycling,” said George Boatright, director of the Carroll County Regional Solid Waste Management District. “About seven million pounds of recycling goes to our facility. … The biggest percentage of that comes out of Eureka Springs. … As far as county-wide, Eureka Springs recycles more than any other area in the county. The program you have here is a good recycling program.”
Currently yellow bags are picked up anywhere in city limits, Boatright said.
“If there’s a yellow bag, we pick it up,” he said.
Another option for the city could be limiting the number of bags, regardless of color, a resident can place on their curb.
If the city opts to move to the cart system, it can purchase them from the solid waste management district and then charge customers a one-time fee, council members discussed. Currently, customers pay $9 for 12 33-gallon bags, council members said.
“For me, yellow bags are fine because I’d rather pay the cheaper rate,” council member Terry McClung said.
Mayor Butch Berry said he would have a hard time using a cart at his residence because of steep terrain and some council members mentioned hilly neighborhoods as being an issue for the carts that have wheels.
“Those things on some of these steep hills on a windy day,” Meyer said. “Like sledding in the winter.”
McClung eventually made a motion to have a workshop on the issue. It received a unanimous vote.
Eureka Springs was one of, if not the first, cities in the state to start a recycling program, Berry said, estimating that it began in 1993.
TRANSIT UPDATE
Transit director Ken Smith gave council members an update on the program during an annual public hearing.
Ridership for the system increased by 6.3 percent over the last year, he said.
“The only year with a better ridership in the last 10 years was 2021 coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Smith said. “However, beginning in August 2023 we have seen a slowdown in ridership and fare revenue.”
There has been an issue finding enough drivers in the past, but that issue has been resolved “to keep overtime at a minimum,” Smith said.
“Finding and retaining experienced drivers is a priority for us,” he said.
OTHER ITEMS
The city is already reaping the benefits of a recently completed water leak detection project, Wiley told council members.
“We do have all the leaks identified,” he said. “… I did notice that our bill was about $10,000 cheaper than what it typically is so that’s a great start. I think next month will be the real key indicator on how we’re doing.”
The council voted 4-1 to approve Susane Gruning as a new member of the city’s planning commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment.
There are still three vacancies on the city advertising and promotion commission, one vacancy on the cemetery commission and one spot remaining on planning/BOZA.
