VAN BUREN, Ark. — Owners of an Arkansas recycling company are under fire from state agencies for allegedly operating as an illegal landfill for over a year.
Documents from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) said that husband and wife Brian Jones and Cori Burton, the owners of Asphalt Innovations in Van Buren, have been accumulating waste on property that isn't even theirs.
A complaint about the activity was first made and investigated in September 2023.
The investigated complaint said the following:
“Shingles are being disposed of on the property. [The complainant] states that the place is advertising as recycling but in actuality they are just stacking up and/or burying shingles. He said they use pallets to try to shield what they are doing from passersby. [The complainant] is concerned that he is downhill from this place and the runoff goes into his pond.”
The complaint, dated Sept. 12, 2023, was made by a person also named in a complaint about the business filed by Arkansas Representative Charlene Fite.
The complaint from Fite said the following:
"[Complainant] called me yesterday. He reports that there are squatters on land on or close to 3537 Hwy 220 west in Uniontown. He said they are running a place named asphaltinnovations.com. He said it is cash or cash app only, and is misrepresenting itself as recycling shingles, but in actuality they are just stacking up and/or burying shingles. He said they use pallets to try to shield what they are doing from passersby. [Complainant] is concerned that he is downhill from this place and the runoff goes into his pond. He would like for ADEQ to investigate."
ADEQ Solid Waste Inspector Jason Gilkey inspected twice in regard to the complaint, once on Sept. 12 and again on Sept. 14.
According to the investigation findings, around 6,000 cubic yards of shingles and other construction waste associated with roofing was located on the property. The waste was congregated in about six large piles spread across three acres.
The findings claim the owners were planning on separating the trash from the shingles, and then grinding the shingles to make a recyclable product, but the couple allegedly didn't have a permit for that.
"The owners were advised to stop all dumping activities at the site, and that all of the waste had to be disposed of at a permitted disposal site with documentation," the findings said.
Additionally, the investigation findings noted there was signage advertising the area as a disposal site.
"They were also advised to remove all signs advertising dumping roofing materials at that site. On the second site visit the signs had been removed. No evidence of waste being buried was observed," the findings said.
At least three violations of the Solid Waste Management Act were noted during the investigation. A letter from Gilkey on Sept. 27, 2023, confirmed that after the investigation on the property, multiple violations were found.
“The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Office of Land Resources conducted a complaint investigation of your property located at 3738 Uniontown Hwy in Van Buren,” the letter said. “The investigation identified conditions at your facility which the DEQ alleges are violations.”
“DEQ may pursue formal enforcement for the alleged violations,” the letter added.
Jones and Burton responded to the complaint, explaining that their mission was to help the environment, and that they were never previously told they needed a permit.
In a hand-written letter to ADEQ dated Oct. 30, 2023, the pair assured that they did not run an illegal landfill.
“I’m writing you in response to the allegations that we are operating an illegal landfill. I can assure you sir, we are not," the letter began. “Did you know that 25% of all landfills in our nation are roofing materials and that it takes 300 years for shingles to break down? That’s a problem! So we came up with what we saw as a solution."
The letter listed three goals the company had:
- To reduce the amount of roofing materials going to the landfill
- Recycle any and all materials in an effort to help our planet
- To use the shingles as fill in a product we designed to build privacy fences, retaining walls, breakwater walls, and seawalls, made out of recycled plastics
"Our entire purpose is to help save our planet by doing our part. Nowhere in our plan does it call for anything that would not benefit the planet," the letter said, adding that any materials not related to their business were for their own home improvement projects or were going to a recycling facility or landfill.
The couple claims they spoke with the EPA, the county, the state, the state attorney general's office, and the local county judge to ensure that what they had planned was legal before they began their business, and not once was a permit mentioned.
"Seems as though Mr. Gilkey and the DEQ say we need some permit but can’t tell me how to acquire said permit. Nobody has a form, document number, or even the name of the permit that is needed. Is it really that secret? Or maybe it doesn’t exist, and someone was just doing a favor for our miserable neighbor," the letter said.
The couple expressed their desire to continue their work, as well as their disappointment that they had to shut down as they "were starting to pick up steam."
The letter, signed by Cori Burton and Brian Jones, includes a 10-step “plan of action.” The ninth step on the list includes moving the business to a new indoor facility, and a note that the plan would be complete by around October 2024.
In an incident report from the Crawford County Sheriff's Office dated Nov. 1, 2023, a reporting party claimed that runoff from the shingles was going into a pond on a neighboring property, killing all of the fish.
Law enforcement said in the report that Jones produced a business license from the county, but that it "did not look like a real license," and that the county clerk's office later confirmed it was not a real business license.
In a Facebook post from Asphalt Innovations on Nov. 6, the company shared that it was "not taking in any new materials at this time."
"We do want to continue supporting our other local small businesses at the same time. Just give us a call. We are starting to grind the materials here as winter months allow for best production," the post said.
A follow up investigation was conducted by Gilkey on Feb. 26, 2024, with Senior Compliance Manager Ryan Hayden and Crawford County Sheriff Daniel Perry accompanying.
Investigation findings made available by ADEQ said that Jones affirmed he owned the property multiple times but refused to show proof of ownership.
The sheriff said that Jones didn't own the property, and that he "only paid back property taxes which did not constitute legal ownership of the property."
"Crawford County and the state of Arkansas do not recognize Mr. Jones, or his wife, Cori Burton, as the legal owners of the property," the findings said, adding that Jones was unable to provide proof of permission to be on the property from the actual property owner.
The investigation also found that after the initial visits in September 2023, Burton and Jones continued to collect waste, and the previous recording of 6,000 cubic yards had now jumped to 8,000 cubic yards.
During the course of the February 2024 investigation, new violations were found at the property.
A grinding machine was observed on the property, and Hayden "reminded Mr. Jones that he does not have a permit to process solid waste of any kind and urged him to cease all unpermitted processing of solid wastes," according to the report.
Additionally, a burn pile was found which contained "partially burned household waste and steel cord found in tires," and an oily sheen was observed in a nearby pond downhill from the waste and burn pile.
Hayden advised Jones that accepting the waste was prohibited and the report recommended that he "immediately cease illegal disposal of solid waste on the property, properly dispose of all solid waste at a permitted solid waste facility and retain copies of disposal receipts and provided to the department as evidence of proper disposal at a permitted solid waste facility."
During this visit, five violations of the Solid Waste Management Act were noted.
On March 4, 2024, Jones contacted CCSO seemingly detailing plans to vacate the premises.
“We found some property out of state and the owner is in the process of pulling all the proper permits so we can move everything there. We’re getting trucks, trailers, and drivers lined up for the move," Jones said.
Within the letter, Jones said that the company was working on completing a silt fence to protect the nearby creek from contamination.
Jones also told CCSO that the company had put up “no dumping” signs, but that they were regularly taken down by an unknown person.
“We’ve started moving some shingles into a pile and pulling all foreign debris out and putting it in a trailer to be transported to the Fort Smith landfill. We’ll send you pictures of the receipts periodically so you can see how much is going out & how often,” Jones said.
However, in a follow up report months later, Gilkey said no progress had been made in moving the material.
A report from Gilkey stated that he conducted a follow up investigation on July 17, in the process speaking to Burton, who said they had not received or removed any material since the Feb. 26 visit. No changes were reported since the previous visit.
In the report, “follow-up as necessary” was listed in a future actions section.
5NEWS spoke to Jones on Oct. 9, 2024, to share his side of the story.
Since being shut down, Jones claimed that no processing has taken place in accordance with the ADEQ's rules. He said the agency gave them a year to clean up. With that year now passed, he's hoping for an extension, but hasn't yet heard back.
Jones explained that he hasn't seen any documentation from ADEQ and was largely unaware of the required paperwork necessary for operating his recycling business, including the aforementioned permits.
Despite being listed as owner in ADEQ documents, Jones describes himself as the operations manager for Asphalt Innovations. He said that it started with the idea of recycling shingles, using them to make material for things like seawalls and privacy fences.
While he does admit that it's an "unsightly mess," Jones said that he never intended to have it on the property forever, and that moving out hinges on the state allowing them to grind the shingles already on the property.
Now, he's working to get the material moved in compliance with the state.
"We've made a deal with someone, and we intend to, if the DEQ allows us, to process material, remove the material from the site, and then place tiny homes out there and rent tiny homes out. If that's not feasible, it doesn't work for the DEQ, then we have no choice," Jones said.
While hoping to comply with the state, Jones said he doesn't want the shingles to go to a landfill.
"At the end of the day, I can't afford to take that stuff to the landfill. It's against my being. I mean, 100% against my being. I just do not understand why we ever throw crude oil in the dump."
Jones said he's found it difficult to fight the state on this.
"All these balls are coming from different directions, you know, I kind of feel like a chunky kid at dodgeball; I'm out, you know," Jones said. "All I could do was stand up and take it on the chin and just keep moving forward, because I don't know how to quit. I just keep on moving forward. I intend to work till I'm dead."
Part of Jones' fear lies in the expenses related to the work they're doing. He said that he went "all in" on the project, and that if he isn't allowed to process the material, he'll have to turn to state funding, which he claims will put the burden on taxpayers.
Jones emphasized multiple times that the couple didn't start this with any ill intent, hoping to do something good for themselves, the community, and the planet.
"It's so complicated and I'm not an attorney. I'm just an old, blue-collar man out here trying to make a living, an honest living, and I didn't turn to the proper authorities, I guess because the authorities that I asked, everybody gave us clearance. We put in our application at the state and at the county, exactly what we intended to do here," Jones said. "I never imagined this was going to get me in trouble, right?"
Now, he fears that if he leaves without handling it, he could be criminally charged. He said that if the state allows him to process and sell the material, he'll finish up what he started and leave.
"I'll probably walk away, cut my losses and walk away," Jones said. "We plan to fully comply with the DEQ and their request. We hope and pray that they allow us to process this material so that the material can be delivered so that the property actually gets cleaned up. It doesn't cost the taxpayer a dime. And we'll move on."
Jones still contests claims that the couple is running an illegal landfill.
"The definition of a landfill is final destination. Never was this ever intended to be final destination. The idea here is to recycle asphalt shingles strictly," Jones said. He explained that the company operated for about 77 days, during that time taking in material from "approximately eight steady customers." Any other material was dropped off without permission.
Jones said that he never intended to have the business on the property or for it to grow that quickly. Everything came to a screeching halt, though, when the ADEQ shut them down as they lacked a proper permit.
Jones said he simply didn't know he needed to have a permit, but the ADEQ said that now it was too late.
"They told me that I should've applied for a permit, but that we could not apply for a permit now because we had already made a mistake," Jones said.
Jones and Burton have also been accused of having an invalid business license.
Despite the county's claims that the couple's business license isn't valid, Jones said he wasn't part of the filing process but was sure it was correct.
"When we started, we applied for business licenses or registered our business with the state, registered our business with the county," Jones said. "We called the quorum court judge; Is there anything else that we need? We were told he would get back in contact with us. And we never heard anything back, and so we went ahead and started taking in material."
Jones describes the whole situation as a whirlwind, all starting with a neighbor who he claims was seeking to buy the property.
While Jones admitted they don't legally own the property, he alleged the Missouri couple who he purchased the land from were gunned down by their 19-year-old son before documents could be notarized.
However, since then, Jones said that the couple in Missouri didn't have rights to the property either, and that the actual deed holders and their family members had reportedly passed away decades prior.
"We hold a deed from someone who is dead, of course, but also was never on the deed itself. In fact, as far as I know, this property is still deeded to someone that passed away back in the 70s. His wife passed away, I don't know when," Jones said.
He said he tried to get in contact with the family to make a cash offer but had no luck.
"It left us flabbergasted when we went to file our paperwork, couldn't file our paperwork because it was not notarized. Could not have no ability to get it notarized because the people are dead. So at that point, then what do you do? Then you have to legally squat on your own property," Jones said.
Despite the hurdles he's faced, Jones said he's certain the idea would work, but he's not sure that Arkansas is ready, based on the state's current laws.
He now hopes that the state can introduce legislation to mandate the recycling of asphalt shingles, adding that the situation has been indicative of larger issues regarding protecting the planet and Arkansas' laws.
"This is the Natural State. I've been trying to get somebody to get in here with me and mandate that in Arkansas we have to recycle this stuff," Jones said. "This makes absolutely no sense, that we're throwing it in a landfill when we are the Natural State, we're supposed to be taking care of this place."
Jones said it brings to light the fact that Arkansas is doing the wrong thing with its waste.
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