The Little Rock Board of Directors during a meeting on Tuesday voted to authorize a contract extension with Waste Management, the city's recycling hauler, that encompasses a resumption of residential glass collection and increased fees.
An ordinance and associated emergency clause were approved unanimously.
The regional Waste Management agreement reached with the Pulaski County Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District also must be reviewed by the city councils of North Little Rock and Sherwood.
Residents of the largest city in Arkansas have been unable to put glass items in their curbside recycling cart since 2019, when a new contract with Waste Management took effect.
Since then, glass pickup has resumed in North Little Rock and Sherwood, but not in Little Rock. The city's Board of Directors in 2020 approved a three-year extension that did not include glass collection, forgoing a more costly proposal from Waste Management.
The extended contract is meant to run through March 2027 and establish identical rates in the three cities.
The current monthly recycling fee in Little Rock is $5.25. In North Little Rock and Sherwood, the fee is $5.79.
Under the revised contract, the fee is scheduled to increase to $5.99. Beginning in April 2025, the fee will increase to $6.31. It will increase to $6.64 in April 2026.
The plastic clamshell containers labeled with a "1" that often contain fruit will now be accepted in curbside carts, too.
According to a recent news release issued on behalf of Waste Management, glass that is separated from other materials at the company's Little Rock material recovery facility will continue to be shipped to manufacturers nationwide as well as a central Arkansas company.
During Tuesday's meeting, Jamie Vernon, a public sector manager with Waste Management, said in response to at-large City Director Dean Kumpuris that glass is hand-collected off the line at the facility at the moment, but equipment upgrades are planned.
The forthcoming glass-collection system is in place at multiple other material recovery facilities, he said, and offered to show some of the glass from a Raleigh, N.C. facility. "It's an extremely clean glass, and it's much cleaner than what we have currently," Vernon said.
The new equipment is expected to be available within 10 to 12 weeks and installation will take two to three days, he said.
According to a statement from Vernon included with the March 28 news release, the new sorting system is expected to recover 95% of the glass from recyclable materials.