The City of Fayetteville will begin single-stream, cart-based recycling collection June 1, marking a major step forward for recycling efforts in Northwest Arkansas and implementing one of the top recommendations identified in the Northwest Arkansas Recycling Roadmap.
Published in 2025 by The Recycling Partnership, the roadmap identified Fayetteville’s transition from curb-sort recycling to cart-based collection as a key opportunity to improve participation, increase material recovery and modernize recycling infrastructure across the region.
Under the new system, Fayetteville residents will place accepted recyclables, including cardboard, paper, plastics Nos. 1 and 2, aluminum and steel cans, into a blue recycling cart for automated collection. Materials placed outside the cart, including flattened cardboard, will no longer be collected.
Glass recycling will continue separately through the city’s green bins and move to an every-other-week pickup schedule. By entering the physical address of their home into a My Fayetteville Services webpage, Fayetteville residents can learn when glass collection will occur in their neighborhood.
The system changes are expected to make recycling easier and more accessible for residents while improving operational efficiency for the city. According to the roadmap, Fayetteville’s previous curb-sort system saw participation rates below 35%, with recyclable collection levels significantly lower than comparable high-performing programs. One of the strengths of the Fayetteville recycling program has always been just how clean the material is, with contamination rates generally below 5%.
The regional recycling report projected that a successful transition to cart-based recycling could increase participation to 60% and divert an additional 3,000 to 5,000 tons of material from the landfill each year. The city has a goal of keeping contamination below 10%, far below the national norm of 20% to 25% of the materials placed in a cart being recyclable.
City leaders also pointed to workplace safety and operational improvements as major drivers behind the transition. Automated collection allows drivers to remain inside their vehicles, reducing physical strain, lowering injury risk and improving route efficiency.
For Northwest Arkansas, the launch reflects continued momentum toward broader regional recycling goals. The Northwest Arkansas Recycling Roadmap established targets of increasing regional recycling participation and total tons collected by 25% by 2030. As the region’s largest city, Fayetteville’s transition represents a significant milestone toward reaching those goals.
“By increasing participation, by reducing contamination, by improving route efficiency and capturing more recyclable materials, this program will play a measurable role in advancing our waste minimization and climate action goals,” said Peter Nierengarten, the city’s environmental director. “Simply put, everyday actions like rolling a cart to the curb truly add up.”
