Extra trash not a problem for Fort Smith sanitation crews

With Christmas comes trash bags full of wrapping paper, plastic, ribbons, bows, Hickory Farms packages, empty egg nog containers and assorted gift-giving refuse.

And all that can quickly overwhelm even the 95-gallon container provided by the Fort Smith Department of Sanitation.

But not to worry. Fort Smith sanitation officials and workers expect it, and are prepared this week to pick up more trash than fits in containers.

“We anticipated times when residents would have trash that would not fit into their refuse carts during our planning for the automated refuse collection program in 2006,” noted an e-mail from Baridi Nkokheli, director of the Department of Sanitation.

The department serves more than 26,000 household accounts in Fort Smith. The department also operates one of the largest landfills in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The landfill, which benefited from receiving former Fort Chaffee property, has a lifespan of more than 65 years and encompasses 1,102 acres. The department recently completed construction of a landfill cell that will handle solid waste needs for another five years.

Nkokheli said the department operates during the holiday season by using “its normal contingencies, such as extended collection times, Dial-A-Truck, and troubleshooting programs, to address seasonal peak collection periods.”

The peak season does not require extra workers, Nkokheli said.

According to department guidelines, extra trash should be bagged and placed 3 feet from the automated cart. The spacing allows hydraulic arms from the automated truck to grab the container. The extra trash will be collected the same day as the containers.

Citizens with extra trash related to a non-seasonal family event or other event are encouraged to contact the department (784-2350) to make arrangements for pick-up.