For Immediate Release
March 30, 2015
CONTACT: Jeff Coles
Director
Recycling and Trash Collection
(479) 575-8398
jcoles@fayetteville-ar.gov
City Seeks Public Input for Trash Reduction, Diversion and Recycling Master Plan
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —Fayetteville is embarking on its first city-wide Trash Reduction, Diversion and Recycling Master Plan. The residents and businesses of Fayetteville are the key to attaining the best ideas for diverting trash from landfills and increasing recycling efforts. The kick-off for the developing the Master Plan will be a public meeting at Woodland Junior High School on Monday, April 6 at 6:00 p.m. Woodland Junior High School is located in Fayetteville’s Midtown at 1 East Poplar Avenue. The meeting will be informative, but it is primarily intended to provide the public with an opportunity to express their thoughts on the future of recycling and trash management in the City. The public is strongly encouraged to attend.
“We are excited about seeing a large crowd at this meeting. We will discuss how the Master Plan process will occur over the upcoming months and how everyone can participate”, said Jeff Coles, City Director of Recycling and Trash Collection.” Peter Nierengarten, City Director of Sustainability and Resilience, added, “This plan is integral to Fayetteville’s goal of attaining a city-wide trash diversion rate of 80% by 2025.” Experts in solid waste (trash) diversion from the City of Fayetteville and Kessler Consulting, Inc., will outline the purpose of the Master Plan; summarize the City’s current trash reduction programs; introduce results from a recently-completed trash composition study; present potential opportunities that exist for increasing trash diversion; and solicit public input on current and potential future trash diversion programs and policies.
Kessler Consulting, Inc. (KCI), is a professional consulting firm hired by the City of Fayetteville after passage of City Council Resolution No. 260-13 to initiate the acquisition of a professional consultant for the development of the 10-year goal of attaining a city-wide trash diversion rate of 80% by January 1, 2025. KCI of Tampa, Florida, won the consulting contract and has over 26 years of experience developing innovative and practical solutions for a wide range of waste (trash) management issues. City staff, Kessler associates, and the public will be coming together at this meeting to chart the future of this plan’s development.
“Fayetteville and her people have long been known as leading the state with environmental protection initiatives, statewide advocacy, research, and our actions to benefit the environment; which places our City in the perfect position to unite and create a successful plan for Fayetteville to lessen our dependence on landfills and the ratepayer fees that go with landfilling waste, while increasing the amount of material recycled and composted in our City”, said Mayor Lioneld Jordan. He added, “I look forward to our residents and business owners coming out to the Master Plan kick-off on April 6th and taking an active part by providing ideas for Fayetteville’s Master Plan that will be finalized later this year.” Flyer for event is attached.
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