Fayetteville, Arkansas, extends curbside composting pilot

After collecting 11.5 tons of food waste during its initial phase, the city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, has extended its curbside collection pilot program for residents.

The city’s Recycling and Trash Collection (RTC) Division partnered with Ozark Compost and Swap (OCS) to manage the program, which collects food waste at registered single-family homes in Fayetteville.

OCS collected 23,000 pounds of food waste from 500 households from January-July. The material is then combined with commercial collections and transported to the city’s compost and mulch facility where it is converted into compost available for purchase by Fayetteville residents.

The contract with OCS has been extended through the end of the year.

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Program participants are given a 5-gallon food waste collection bucket and receive one-month free pick-ups, which is one pick-up every two weeks.

The city of Fayetteville says composting is a key part of its goal to divert at least 40 percent of waste from the landfill. Food waste alone accounts for nearly 20 percent of Fayetteville’s waste.

“Sending food waste to the landfill has deleterious effects on our city, our region and our planet, and we are excited to continue partnering with Ozark Compost and Swap to contribute to the future of a healthy community,” Environmental Director Peter Nierengarten says.

Fayetteville shares one landfill, the Eco-Vista Landfill in Tontitown, Arkansas, which serves as the region’s primary landfill. Operated by Houston-based WM, the landfill accepted more than 600,000 tons of waste from Benton and Washington counties in 2022 and has approximately 10 years left of capacity.   

Currently, multifamily residences are not eligible for the program, and the city says the success of this pilot program will determine the demand to expand the program for other residents.