Some public officials take lots of trips to out-of-state conventions and talk a good game about sustainable cities, but some actually do it. The city of Rogers has taken action to become the leader in Northwest Arkansas, and the Rogers Recycling Center, expected to be operational early next year, will be able to take all types of plastics, as well as glass, cardboard and just about anything else.
Significantly, the new recycling center will include a densifier to recycle polystyrene cups and a glass crusher. The City of Prairie Grove is considering a glass crushing operation that will recycle the crushed cullet as underlay bedding for paving new sidewalks or streets and save the taxpayers money, but
Congratulations to Mayor Steve Womack and the Rogers City Council, who worked together to purchase the 22-acre site, contract for large scale development plans and landscaping, and acquire all of the necessary equipment for less than $2 million. Money generated by the recycling center will go to the Parks and Recreation Department budget to help fund the planned expansion of their parks system.
Such an innovative recycling program is one of many things -- including parks expansion, sidewalk and trails development, the arts festival, expansion of fire and police protection, green public buildings, serious economic development, and living wages for city employees -- that the City of Fayetteville might have considered and funded were it not for a $63 million cost overrun on the sewer plant.
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