Solid Waste Department committed to cleaning up the community

(From Left) John Brooks, John Dyson, J. R. Henderson, Don Atkins and Darius Marshall of the Columbia County Landfill.
(From Left) John Brooks, John Dyson, J. R. Henderson, Don Atkins and Darius Marshall of the Columbia County Landfill.

The Solid Waste Department of Columbia County offers a multitude of services to its community, such as the disposal of bagged leaves and pine needles from a resident’s lawn work, collection of large kitchen appliances and the on-site disposal of building materials. The last factor is a key component for the local landfill, which does not take in any garbage normally associated with landfills.

“There are four classifications of landfills. This is a class four landfill,” said John Dyson, manager of the Columbia County Landfill. “It is for construction and demolition waste.”

Dyson stated that the local landfill can receive lumber, asphalt, roofing, concrete and other materials that are associated with construction or demolition. Along with that, the local landfill can receive non-electronic manufactured materials, such as furniture and appliances. Other bulky, inert wastes are accepted at the local landfill as well. With only construction and demolition waste received, the local landfill does not have the penetrative stink that permeate many other landfills.

The other three landfill classifications are a Class 1 landfill, which can receive putrescible garbage and the regularly generated trash within a household; a Class 3C ,which accepts commercial waste; and a Class 3N which accepts industrial waste. There is no such thing as a Class 2 landfill in the State of Arkansas.

“Solid waste, I believe it was back in ‘92, passed a regulation called regulation 22, which said there will be no more just open landfills. (Back then) there was nobody governing landfills. You could take whatever you wanted to a landfill, whether it be from a manufacturing plant, from your backyard or even a dead horse,” stated Dyson.

He said that there used to be an open landfill that belonged to City and he can remember as a child seeing a dead horse among the other unregulated trash that residents brought to the dump.

With solid regulations in place for communities to regulate their waste, it became apparent that the state and local communities would need employees to hold the public to those regulations and to deal with waste as it enters the solid waste facilities. At the Columbia County landfill, Gate Controller Don Atkins works to hold residents to the standards of what can be dumped at the landfill.

“Anybody that comes through that gate, I try to get to them to see what they’ve got so I can direct them to where they can deposit their junk and debris,” stated Atkins.

A former officer of the United States Marine Corps, Atkins flew helicopters in Vietnam and served his country for 11 years, four years in the Navy and six in the Marine Corps, before leaving the service as a Captain. Now, he is referred to affectionately by community members as Ol’ Don.

Atkins wished to remind the community that items that he turns people around for can often be taken to another location in town. Cardboard, papers and books can be deposited at the Abilities Unlimited recycling center and metal items can be taken to the Tin Man, who will purchase the items from individuals. Despite having to turn people around, Atkins wishes to make the experience at the landfill a nice one and encourages the community to utilize the landfill when they need it.

“People don’t realize that this (landfill is funded) by their tax money. You’ll be surprised how many wallets come out,” stated Atkins with a laugh. Part of his job in instructing people where to deposit trash often results in instructing residents to deposit their wallets back into their pockets.

On the far side of the landfill, the incinerator sits ready to accept brush and lumber with John Brooks standing by to feed the large machine. The machine is thirty-five feet tall and around 17 feet wide, so Brooks utilizes the County’s grapple truck in order to dump materials into the intense heat of the machine. “It’s not real hard, but it’s continuous work,” said Brooks. “It is a much-needed work.” The incinerator accepts untreated lumber and the bags of leaves and pine straw that typically find their way to the street side near late fall. Dyson said that the goal is to burn materials that will not release harmful particles into the atmosphere and into the air that the community breathes. If it passes by Atkins and doesn’t make its way to Brooks at the incinerator, the waste will make its way to one of the 20 foot deep, 30-foot by 40-foot pits that Lead Operator J. R. Henderson has dug with the County trackhoe.

“I’m the one that digs the holes and bury it (the waste),” said Henderson. “Once you get ready to back up to it, you don’t see the pit until you’re right up on it.”

Henderson said that he places blocks near the pit to deter would-be dumpers from committing to a reverse drive plunge into the pits that he digs. He commented that even after eight-years on the job, the danger of falling into pits has never left his mind and the job has to be taken seriously. “When I first started, I was very, very nervous. I tell everybody, you get on that equipment, be scared of it,” stated Henderson.

Despite the potential danger near the pits, Henderson said that he loves his job and enjoys the opportunities to help people with their waste when they come into the landfill.

The men of the county landfill’s work begins where the useful life of an item ends. With a commitment to accepting the proper waste of a Class 4 landfill, there is nothing that stinks when working at the Columbia County landfill.

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