Searcy Announces Transition from Curbside Recycling to Drop-Off Recycling to Improve Efficiency and Reduce Waste
The City of Searcy will transition from residential curbside recycling to drop-off recycling beginning October 6, 2025 due to significant cost and contamination concerns. Moving forward, residents are encouraged to bring their recyclables to the Searcy Recycling Center at 409 W Beebe Capps Expressway, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 8am to noon.
In 2024, Searcy’s recycling program cost approximately $526,842 to operate. The City was able to recover $108,786 from the sale of recyclable materials and saved around $25,080 in landfill fees. The recycling program still ran at a deficit of approximately $392,976—most of which came from curbside collection services.
Curbside collection is not only more expensive, but it also leads to more contamination, which means many recyclables still end up in the landfill. Switching to drop-off helps reduce costs and ensures more of what you put in your recycling bins is actually recycled.
In addition to the high cost of recycling, it’s estimated that nearly 80% of all items collected through curbside recycling went to the landfill due to contamination.
“Recycling is actually very complex and if it’s not done properly it leads to contamination of the load,” Sanitation Director Todd Phillips said. “Unfortunately, the majority of what we pick-up from curbside recycling ends up in the landfill because it is contaminated. However, the majority of what we receive at our drop-off location is sorted properly and is actually recycled.”
Community leaders met with recycling experts who advise communities on effective recycling programs to get advice on how to improve our program.
“After a thorough analysis of Searcy’s annual recycling volumes, it is clear that the city does not currently generate the necessary volume to support the operational costs of a sustainable curbside collection program,” Martha Treece, ORE - Recovered Materials, Inc. said. “Given Searcy’s demographic profile, a more practical and fiscally responsible approach is to continue supporting and enhancing our existing drop-off recycling center. This facility already provides residents with an accessible option for responsible waste diversion and aligns with best practices seen in similar communities. In light of this information, we believe maintaining a strong drop-off center is the most cost-effective and environmentally responsible solution for Searcy at this time.”
"This transition allows us to reduce waste, save taxpayer dollars, and ensure that more of what we collect can actually be recycled," said Mayor Mat Faulkner. "Drop-off recycling gives us better quality control and is a more sustainable way forward."
Residents are asked to continue using their current recycling bins for transportation to the center.
Recyclables should be sorted in the following categories:
Plastic Bottles
Clear and colored beverage bottles
Milk and juice jugs
Liquid soap and detergent bottles
Lotion and shampoo bottles
Plastic coffee containers
It must have a neck to be a bottle, no butter or whipped topping containers, no auto fluid, pesticide, herbicide or pool chemical bottles.
Remove lid, empty remaining contents and rinse clean. Do not replace lid.
Aluminum & Tin Cans
Household beverage and food cans.
No gas cans, wet paint cans or aerosol cans.
Empty contents and rinse clean. Metal lids can be dropped into the opened can. Labels do not need to be removed.
Paper Products
Newspapers, magazines, catalogs, phone books, books (with binding removed), junk mail, office and school papers. Remove mail from plastic mailers.
No construction or dark papers
No contaminants (gum, art projects)
Keep paper dry
No waxed, frozen food, cereal or beverage cartons
Flattened cardboard boxes, pizza boxes (food free), dry food, etc.
To learn more about drop-off recycling, visit cityofsearcy.org/recycling.