Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 1, 1991 TAG: 9102010760
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ninety-two percent of residents, the Roanoke Valley Poll finds, support the idea of requiring people to recycle newspapers, bottles and cans. Smaller but still hefty majorities would favor banning sales of plastic foam cups and use of aerosol cans.
These attitudes tie in with larger concerns. Seventy-two percent of those polled agree that "We should protect the environment even if that means the government will have to spend a lot of money"; 57 percent would protect the environment even if it means some people will lose their jobs.
Perhaps most encouraging, 76 percent disagree with the statement that "There is not much one person can do to help the environment."
Residents' support for mandatory recycling is even stronger now than it was a year ago. Then, the Roanoke Valley Poll found almost 75 percent backed the concept.
The poll's findings suggest there's ample popular will that valley governments can channel into broader and more effective recycling.
There is also a foundation of past efforts to build on. In 1988, a consultant's report said this area was recycling more than any other community in Virginia. That was mostly commercial and industrial waste and construction debris. Since then, governments have begun getting into the act.
Vinton had the state's first mandatory curbside recycling program. Roanoke County had the first such voluntary curbside collections, now reaching thousands of its homes.
The city of Roanoke plans to launch its own program in March, aiming eventually to involve all of its 36,000 households in separating newspapers, glass, aluminum and some plastics from the rest of their refuse.
Other, related efforts are in place. For years, the city of Salem has burned its garbage and generated steam that it sells to Mohawk Rubber Co. Nearly a year ago, the Roanoke Valley Regional Landfill began grinding up brush and other wood scraps to sell as mulch.
The region's governments have started pushing recycling to save on landfill space and costs. Now they are under a state mandate to reduce their volume of solid waste by 10 percent this year, 15 percent by 1993 and 25 percent by 1995.
The challenge of meeting even these modest mandates should not be underestimated. Indeed, most local governments have been slow to gear up for recycling. They should have started, in a big way, long ago.
Meanwhile, throwing out a correct response to an opinion pollster is one thing. Getting serious about recycling is another.
The trick will be to convert widespread but vague support of the concept into widespread participation in the actual task of separating waste. That will not be accomplished effortlessly.
Even so, Roanoke Valley governments are fortunate - as the recent poll results show - that residents are ready to support them in stepping up recycling efforts. Their task will be aided by the public's near-universal appreciation of its importance.
by CNB