Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 23, 1990 TAG: 9007230102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Every other week, large blue bins containing bags of paper, glass, aluminum and plastic line the streets. A recycling station set up at the Kroger store at Lake Drive Shopping Center is collecting "tremendous" amounts of recyclables, said Town Manager George Nester.
Over at the Vinton Baptist Church, pastor Bill Ross delivers sermons about taking responsibility for the environment, while vacation Bible school students bring recyclable materials to class every day.
And just recently, Town Council members got their first look at the town's brand-new collection truck. It has separate bins for each material and enough space inside to allow public works crews to cover an entire collection route in one trip.
Vinton's recycling program, the first mandatory one in the state to include aluminum, glass, plastics and yard waste, has been in effect since May 21.
Compliance has been running at about 96 percent, Assistant Town Manager Bob Benninger reported to Town Council on July 3. That figure, he said, is consistent with response rates to programs around the country; they range from 85 percent to 98 percent.
In fact, Nester said, response has been "almost too good." Collection crews have been working "day and night" to keep up with the amount of recyclables residents are turning in. The new truck, he said, should make things easier.
Frances and Maurice "Red" Booth are typical Vinton residents. Like many of their neighbors in this town where more than 14 percent of the population is over 62, they are retired.
"It's a natural trait" for older people to resist change, Booth said. At first, he explained, "we thought [recycling] would be a problem, but it's not. When you get used to it, there's nothing to it."
"I think it's great," Frances Booth said. Washing cans and bottles for recycling and removing labels doesn't take too much time, they agreed.
The Booths have recycled newspapers for years. They used to give them to Boy Scout troops during paper drives, but now the papers go into the bottom of the recycling bin. Envelopes, scrap paper and even the cardboard tubes from paper-towel and toilet-paper rolls fill one of the paper bags inside the bin. Plastic, glass and aluminum fill the others.
Nester said about 50 percent of the people who complain about the program said the bins are too small. Those families have been encouraged to buy extra bins from the town. The Booths said they manage to fill theirs completely every two weeks even though "it's just the two of us."
Since the project began, Booth said, the couple has needed to use only one of their two regular garbage cans each week.
The Booths especially like the fact that town workers will carry the bins to the curb for residents whose health does not permit them to do so themselves.
Frances Booth said she believes the program should remain mandatory. "We've got to do something," she said, "but what we're going to do about disposable diapers, I don't know."
"It will come regardless," Red Booth said. "We're going to drown in our own rubbish. It's economical to do it, and healthier."
Not everyone loves the recycling program, however. "I despise it," said Linda James, who has lived in Vinton for 17 years. "This is just a stupid mess that has been forced on us. It's taking our freedom away."
She, her husband and their two teen-aged children "could fill 10 [recycling bins] in one week," she said.
James said she has tried setting out other types of containers but town workers won't pick them up.
Nester said the idea behind the blue bin is that it is an "identifying mark" for town crews. They will pick up anything placed on or near the bin. Anything else is considered to be regular household garbage.
James is afraid not to comply with the program, since the recycling ordinance calls for fining anyone who doesn't participate after two warnings. She makes about three trips a week to the Kroger recycling site.
"Why should I pay for extra bins?" she said. The bins cost $6 each and Nester pointed out that the town doesn't provide free garbage cans, either.
"I don't think it's helping the environment that much," James added.
The worst part of recycling, she said, is "I'm already paying taxes for trash collection. Why should I dirty my hands going through it?"
Nester said the biggest problem the program has had so far is that residents are trying almost too hard. Sometimes, he said, they put non-recyclable items in with the recyclables. Many people mistake tin or steel cans for aluminum. Others have been putting plastic foam or polystyrene containers, such as fast-food hamburger boxes, in with the plastics. These cannot be recycled yet, Nester said.
Before the program began, he added, each family was issued a magnetic memo board with guidelines for recycling on the back.
During the first six weeks, the program brought the town $457 in revenue from the sale of recyclables and $983 in avoided costs at the Roanoke Regional Landfill.
The commonwealth has mandated a 20 percent reduction in the amount of waste going to landfills by 1995. Vinton, Benninger said, is well on the way to achieving that goal five years ahead of time.
by CNB