Northwest Arkansas recycling is on the rise, according to the third annual Regional Recycling Report released today by the Northwest Arkansas Council’s recycling initiative, NWA Recycles.
Public, private and nonprofit local programs together collected and processed at least 48,639 tons of material in 2023, roughly equivalent to keeping the garbage generated by 50,000 average Americans out of the landfill for a year, based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data. That figure was more than 3,000 tons higher than the previous year and is also an undercount because of gaps in the available data.
The biggest increase came in Fayetteville, where collections of food scraps and yard waste for composting ballooned by more than 50% to reach almost 12,000 tons. The city over several years has built an organics composting operation that serves residents and businesses within city limits and anchors local composting services that reach throughout the region.
The report also comes as NWA Recycles enters its fourth year of supporting and coordinating with dozens of recycling programs to strengthen NWA’s circular economy with support from the Walmart Foundation. NWA Recycles this year has partnered with recyclers and other community leaders to compost more food waste from local school districts’ cafeterias, help cities recycle more glass and offer recycling at more public events, among other efforts.
“All of Northwest Arkansas, from individual residents to the biggest employers, are connected to the region’s recycling systems and benefit from their continued success, from the jobs and businesses that they support, and from the water and other natural resources that they protect,” said Nelson Peacock, president and CEO of the Council. “I congratulate these programs on a record-breaking year and look forward to working with them to push even further in the future.”
The Regional Recycling Report includes a breakdown of the data for individual programs and communities, recent projects concerning the safe handling of batteries and tires, and a detailed regional directory of businesses and other organizations that work in recycling and waste diversion. It provides the most up-to-date and complete tally of NWA recycling, allowing a comparison to the past and a baseline for goals in the future.
“The annual report compiled by NWA Recycles is a valuable resource for our planning efforts,” said Robyn Reed, executive director of Boston Mountain Solid Waste District. “The insights it provides help us identify strengths in recycling and diversion, enabling us to develop strategies for future growth and improvement.”
