Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 7, 1991 TAG: 9103080588
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: NEW CASTLE LENGTH: Medium
But, the county should encourage recycling of refuse and use tax money, if necessary, to promote it, the report said.
"The county should utilize litter tax funds for educating its citizens about recycling," according to a waste handling proposal prepared for Fifth Planning District Commission staff.
Debbie Sturm, a planner for the commission, presented the proposal to the Craig County Board of Supervisors Monday.
The supervisors took the report under study. If approved it will become part of the county's state-mandated Waste Management Plan that must be in effect by 1995.
The report also recommends that Craig work toward a resource recovery incineration facility, where heat from burning refuse is used to generate some other form of energy.
Resource recovery is a more efficient method than incineration alone, the report says. Also, selling the created energy helps offset costs of building and operating an incineration plant.
"Because of the expense," the report says, "sale of the energy or product are necessary."
No specific costs were mentioned in the report.
The Salem Resource Recovery Facility, where Salem burns its refuse to generate steam for the Mohawk Tire Co.'s plant, is the Roanoke Valley's only incineration program. The report urges Craig to try to join Salem in that program now rather than attempting to set up its own facility.
"Building an incinerator is not an economically viable waste management solution for Craig County at this time," the report says.
But in the future, the report recommends that Craig should consider entering into resource recovery more fully as technology improves incineration and reduces the costs.
The report also says that Craig could continue with a conventional landfill, possibly by joining with a nearby locality. But the report indicates that other localities are having difficulties finding landfill space for their own refuse.
Recommendations in the proposal are divided into short-term, intermediate term and long-term.
Short-term proposals include encouraging consumers to buy fewer disposable products, to recycle and to sell unwanted items that can still be used or donate to them to charity.
The county, according to the report, should enter into aggressive recycling programs involving all types of household goods, used motor oil, old auto batteries and even abandoned autos.
For intermediate recommendations, the report suggests the county work toward expanding its consignment center where citizens can dispose of, not only clothing as now, but also usable furniture and appliances.
Additionally, the county should encourage separation of recyclable materials and begin recycling scrap metal and look into the possibility of a used tire collection program.
Also the county should work toward turning wood waste into mulch and expanding the recycling of newspapers and other waste paper.
Refuse that cannot be recycled, the report says, should be incinerated with the ash going to a landfill.
Craig, one of the smallest localities in the Fifth Planning District territory, has about 2,200 cubic yards of refuse a month.
by CNB