Trash disposal fee starts in Little River County

For the first time, fees will be charged in Little River County for residential and commercial trash disposal service, County Judge Mike Cranford said.

Starting Sunday, charges will be implemented for solid-waste removal for residential and commercial customers. The new fee system was unanimously approved Feb. 9 by Little River County Quorum Court.

The service will remain the same, but residential customers will pay a $17 monthly fee.

Commercial green box customers will pay $75 a month per container for biweekly pickup and $100 a month per container for weekly pickup.

The trash-collection service has been funded since 1996 with a half-percent sales tax. The service included trash collection door to door and the collection of trash from commercial containers.

Sales-tax revenue has been declining in Little River County, while the cost to collect the trash and haul it to the regional landfill in Nashville has increased, Cranford said.

“Rural Little River County residents have enjoyed the luxury of free door-to-door solid-waste pickup for many years. This was due in part as a result of excess revenues generated from the half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 1995 and implemented in 1996. Unfortunately, due to rising costs and increase in overhead, after almost 20 years, we are unable to continue providing this service at no charge to you, the consumer,” Cranford said.

The half-percent sales tax has been collected to fund the rural trash service despite the locations of the businesses collecting sales tax. The half-percent sales tax that pays for the trash collection service in the rural areas of the county is collected in Ashdown, Foreman, Wilton, Winthrop and Ogden, Cranford said.

The incorporated towns have their own trash service and fees.

Cranford said some residents have complained the sales tax should be removed if the fee is collected. Other residents said they wanted to burn or bury their trash instead of participating in a trash collection service.

Cranford said residents risk being fined by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality if they do so.

“Open burning of refuse, garbage, trade waste or other waste materials can result in fines up to $10,000 per incident,” Cranford said.

To appease its residents, the county is offering a 10 percent discount to customers who pay for the entire year in advance.

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