The Fort Smith Sanitation director was fired Wednesday following a recent controversy over dumping of the city’s recyclable materials in the city landfill since July.

Mark Schlievert, a geological engineer, was hired as director of sanitation in April 2016 to replace Baridi Nkokheli, who had been sanitation director since 2005.

Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken, who was hired in May 2016 following the late Ray Gosack’s retirement in August 2015, confirmed the firing of Schlievert on Wednesday. Because it was a “personnel matter,” Geffken said he was unable to comment.

Ward 4 City Director George Catsavis said he and other city directors were informed of the firing by email Wednesday.

"There were no details other than that he had been terminated," Catsavis said of the email to city directors.

In regard to the city's dumping of recyclable materials in the landfill for nearly a year, Catsavis said although "Schlievert was the sanitation director, other people in administration should've known about it."

"This isn’t right," Catsavis said. "It was withheld from the public and the board for so long. This was terrible that this came out like this. ... I would have liked to see the administration go public with a simple statement, and the people would've understood, but to hide it like that raises questions."

As the Times Record reported last week, the city’s contract with recycling vendor Smurfit KAPPA expired in September 2014. As a temporary solution, the city was taking recycling to Green Source, a recycling center in Clarksville until July, when it began dumping recycling into the landfill without notifying residents. City officials have been negotiating with MARCK Industries Inc. to take the city’s recyclable waste.

The city has continued to run seven recycling trucks, costing the city $52,920 a month.