FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- Monday (June 26) at 1 p.m. the first Fort Smith sanitation recycling truck made its way to a warehouse on Highway 271.
The load is the first of recyclable materials to not be taken to the landfill in years.
Fort Smith city leaders gave a contract to Third Rock Recycling to start taking the recyclables picked up by city workers.
"As of today the recycling is no longer going into the landfill - which everyone is happy to hear. I know we are. We will have our baler delivered this week and processing equipment and be up and operational very soon," Third Rock owner Adam Callihan said.
The company will take the materials at the warehouse on Highway 271, pack them up and ship them out.
Company leaders said once a long-term contract is in place with the City of Fort Smith they will purchase a sorting machine. Eventually, city leaders said they hope to take over the sorting machine and sort the recyclable materials themselves at the Fort Smith Sanitation Department. If that happens, the sorted material will then be sold back to Third Rock for a profit.
City leaders said the process of dumping the recyclables at the warehouse cots them approximately $24,000 a month.