Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 15, 1992 TAG: 9201150369
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
IT'S MANDATORY
IT'S NOT as if Vinton is unaccustomed to setting an environmental example. The town was treating its own sewage before the rest of the Roanoke Valley owned up, years ago, to what kind of facility it needed for responsible handling of the valley's sewage volume.So it shouldn't surprise anyone that where local recycling's concerned, Vinton also has shown the way. In May 1990, while some other valley governments were tiptoeing around the subject, Vinton stepped forward and made it mandatory to separate household trash and set it at curbside for recycling.
In 1989, the town had taken 3,730 tons of refuse to the regional landfill. With little more than a half year's experience with mandatory recycling, that volume dropped to 2,962 tons for 1990. The figure was down to 2,752 tons last year.
If need be, Vinton was willing to take a loss from recycling at first. In late 1990, town planner Chris Chittum said: "It might be costing us more right now to operate the program than we're saving." He hoped that the town would save in the long run, as landfill tipping fees rose.
They have risen, and in 1991 Vinton saved $10,267 in such fees by recycling 527 tons of waste. Sale of this material, meantime, brought the town $3,354. But there was a saving to the entire valley because every ton of solid waste that's recycled instead of buried extends the landfill's life.
Of course, other valley communities are recycling too. But none made such a commitment in 1990 as did Vinton - to the extent of starting out with collection bins made from recycled material, and ordering other items for town use, such as stationery, that result from a recycling process.
All this has been easier for Vinton because the town is small and fairly homogeneous, and its people tend to pull together. But others can profit from its example. That kind of spirit and willingness can also be recycled - many times.