BENTON COUNTY -- The annual Benton County fall cleanup will have some changes this year, organizers said.
Officials and volunteers will help residents dispose of unwanted items at Road Department locations at 1206 SW. 14th St. in Bentonville; 1700 S. Wimpy Jones Road in Garfield; and 200 Spavinaw Ave. in Decatur from 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 11.
Teresa Sidwell, environmental manager, said some of the dropoff and collection points at the Bentonville location have changed to help with traffic flow.
"We have moved the household hazardous waste further back on the property," Sidwell said. "It's one of the most popular parts of the event. We've moved some others, like Habitat for Humanity, the foam packing dropoff and the shredding, farther up."
A map of the layout and information about what is accepted and other details can be found on the bccleanup.org website.
John Sudduth, general services administrator, said changes have been made to the entrance to the Road Department yard to help ease problems with traffic that has backed up onto Southwest 14th Street in previous years. The gate to the road yard has been moved and the entrance for the cleanup will utilize removable fence panels, Sudduth said.
"We should be able to get at least six lanes of traffic in this way, maybe more," Sudduth said.
The event is managed by county staff, but it depends on volunteers to operate, Sidwell said. The county tries to recruit enough volunteers to have 120 people work each of the two-hours shifts organizers set up. With 240 volunteers needed, the county will welcome additional help, she said.
"We have about 90 percent of the volunteers we need," Sidwell said. "We're in pretty good shape at the Bentonville location, but we're still desperately seeking volunteers for Garfield. We just have a hard time finding volunteers for Garfield."
"We can always use more," Sudduth said. "We're pretty well set, but if more people come in it makes it easier on everybody."
One volunteer incentive the county has this year is a drawing for prizes that include tickets to the Oct. 25 Arkansas football game, Sidwell said. Anyone interested in registering to volunteer and qualify for the drawing can do so at bccleanup.org, she said.
The county has a long working partnership with the Benton County Solid Waste District that will continue at the cleanup. Sudduth pointed out the district operates the county's convenience center and a household hazardous waste disposal facility that county residents can use throughout the year.
Wendy Cravens, district manager, said the household hazardous waste facility that opened in April at the district's property at 5702 Brookside Road, Bentonville, and the convenience center are seeing more use.
"The response has been very good," Cravens said. "The citizens are liking not having to hold onto things for a whole year."
Joel Jones, justice of the peace for District 7, said cleanup events are popular, but the convenience center is something more residents should take advantage of. Both are aimed at the same goal, Jones said.
"We're reducing the amount people are dumping," Jones said. "This gives people the opportunity to properly dispose of things like used motor oil, old paint, aerosol cans, batteries and fluorescent bulbs."
Having cleanup events twice a year helps people remember the importance of recycling instead of throwing items in with the trash, Jones said.
"If we're doing this and people are thinking about it, then they're not putting it in the trash and we're keeping it out of the landfills," Jones said. "I think we're also keeping people from dumping some things. I know some people are still dumping illegally, but if they know they can take it to the cleanup or to the convenience center to dispose of it, they may not."
Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards is a regular volunteer at the cleanup events. His city has a monthly bulky items pickup program, but residents still make use of the cleanups. He also encourages people to use the convenience center.
"We also have access to the convenience center, all county residents do, and when people call me about the cleanup I'll refer them down there or I'll refer them to the cleanup," he said. "A lot of our citizens use that. I'm already getting calls about it."
General News on 10/08/2014