Officials running the Vilonia Spring Clean Up and Recycle Day ran out of dumpster room Saturday before they ran out of trash.
The clean up event, scheduled to run from 7 a.m. until noon, shut down nearly an hour earlier than planned after filling two 40 yard dumpsters supplied by the Conway Sanitation Department. Pickup trucks, however, were still lined up with the drivers wanting to dump.
"We had a lot more than we had last year," said Mayor Ken Belote. He tagged the event as a definite success. "We could have used three dumpsters."
Originally, officials thought one dumpster would serve the needs gauging by last year's participation . However, early in the morning the first dumpster was loaded to the brim and headed back to Conway.
"There were trucks still in line waiting (to dump) while they went for another one," Belote explained. The second one was declared full by shortly after 11 a.m.
"I just can't take anymore in here (dumpster)," said Lewis Noggle of the Conway Sanitation Department, to the man driving a truck in wait and loaded with a swing set as well as other items. "We've got to shut it down at this."
Amy Hargues, also a CSD employee, directed the drivers in the loaded pickups to the Conway dump site where they were allowed to dump for free until 4 p.m.
Along with the mayor, Noggle and Hargues were on hand throughout the morning. Sharing what they had seen dumped they said "no telling how much metal," had been dumped.
Listing a few of the items dumped they named lawnmowers, fencing, weed eaters and PVC fencing. They talked about fence pasts being dumped at a cost of $3 each. They also saw roofing, several swings, wheel barrows, weight benches along with weights as well as mattresses, tables and chairs.
They turned away hot water heaters, electronics, refrigerators, glass and tires. Hargues reminded that residents may take up to four tires a day to the Conway Landfill, located at 4550 Highway 64 (old Morrilton Highway) without a charge.
The items in the dumpsters will be sorted by employees of the Conway Sanitation Department for recycling purposes with the proceeds going to the city of Conway.
Sharing figures on another successful clean up effort, Hargues said seven truckloads (53 foot diesels) were collected during an "E-waste" (electronics) drive held recently in the Wal Mart parking lot in Conway.
"That was definitely a success," she said. "It seemed like everyone had a computer to get rid of that day."
Even though the clean up items were referred to Conway, officials with the Vilonia School District continued the collection of recyclables until noon. The recycling volunteers, Belote said, had a very productive day.
"One guy brought so much cardboard they had to take it to the school," Belote explained.
He pointed to the city's new recycling trailer, purchased by a grant from the Faulkner County Solid Waste District, which was setting full of recyclables. That was the first thing filled, he said.
Plans are being formed, he also said, to develop a schedule allowing the recycling trailer to be used on a full time basis traveling in Vilonia neighborhoods rather than just for special events.
"I'm all about recycling" Belote said. "We are going to try to get this thing going. I'm betting that we could use two of these also and keep them full."
