THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 30, 1996 TAG: 9604300292
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN
STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 111 lines
An informal survey completed Monday found that by a 7-to-1 margin, residents don't support the city's plan to abandon curbside recycling in favor of expanded drop-off centers.
The InfoLine survey, which recorded more than 2,000 weekend votes, came after the city announced last week that it wanted to end curbside recycling in favor of having people take their recyclables to city-run drop-off centers.
The city's decision followed a vote last week by the Southeastern Public Service Authority, the regional waste-disposal consortium, to impose a first-ever $1 per household monthly fee to offset collection costs.
The fee would have cost Virginia Beach $1.3 million annually, an amount the city had not budgeted.
The SPSA proposal also would have coincided with a drop of $3.20 per ton of its so-called ``tipping fee,'' the amount Virginia Beach pays to have its trash sent to the regional landfill. This year, the city will pay $8.1 million for the service.
City officials, who have overseen the program - Hampton Roads' most successful recycling program - said they were not abandoning recycling efforts, only trying to make them more efficient and cost-effective.
By declining to pay the new fee, Virginia Beach plans to more than double the number of drop-off centers at municipal sites such as schools, and make use of larger, more consumer-friendly collection bins.
The centers would take almost all forms of recyclable refuse, including brown, green and clear glass; most grades of plastic; newspapers; magazines; telephone books; and aluminum and steel cans. In taking a wider variety of refuse, the city believed it could persuade people to take the extra step of recycling rather than settling for the SPSA curbside service, which takes a limited range of recyclables.
But if the survey results are any indication, the plan may backfire.
The telephone survey relied on people to voluntarily call and voice their opinion to this question: Do you agree with Virginia Beach's plan to abandon curbside recycling in exchange for expanded recycling centers?
The results: 262 said yes; 1,792 said no.
Nanci A. Glassman, president of Norfolk-based Continental Research, a company specializing in consumer research, said that while the sample was not statistically significant, the number of people who chose to vote was ``impressive.''
Theresa Stanley, the social minister for St. Nicholas Catholic Church on Little Neck Road, was among those who objected to the city's plans.
``I think it's totally irresponsible,'' Stanley said. ``I think a city the size of Virginia Beach needs to be leading the way by putting a priority on our children's future and in respect for the environment.
``It has taken years to expand the program into neighborhoods and I can't imagine some kind of compromise not being made here,'' she said. ``It's difficult for people to get to the PTA meeting, much less to the recycling bins.''
Recycling has always been a matter of personal choice. Asked if the new proposal would underscore that sense of personal commitment, Stanley said: ``That's absurd. We know we have to get rid of our trash, but we don't ask people to go to the landfill.''
Asked about the InfoLine response, Felicia Walker Blow, the SPSA director of public information, said, ``They're very encouraging. The numbers should speak for themselves - and not SPSA - about recycling in Virginia Beach. We're just very hopeful, but we're not going to get into a shouting match with the city.''
Debra C. Devine, the city's director of recycling, believed the vote would not have been so lopsided had callers been asked directly about the increased fees that SPSA wanted to charge the city.
``It was a $1.3 million unbudgeted request,'' Devine said. ``It was not in pot A to be taken out and put into pot B. There was no pot from which to take it. We can save a considerable amount of money by using the drop-off centers until a more innovated means of collecting recyclables becomes available.''
She said the city is studying a plan that would allow residents to commingle all their recyclables into one large trash bin - much like they do today with the 90-gallon, city-issued black trash bins - and then have the waste sorted at a central site. ILLUSTRATION: BEACH RECYCLING
The results of Infoline survey: 262 said yes; 1,792 said no
[Color Photo]
HUY NGUYEN
The Virginian-Pilot
Theresa Stanley and her family are upset over Virginia Beach's plan
to scrap curbside recycling.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
Martha Adkins (Virginia Beach): ``I don't think the city should
abandon this program. I know I would not load up a bunch of dirty
trash in my car to take to a recycle bin. If they put it to the
people, and ask them if they wanted to pay a fee for curbside
recycling, I think most people would say `Yes.' I know I would pay a
fee to have curbside recycling.''
Eric Hughes (Chesapeake): ``Virginia Beach made the right
decision. It never made sense to drive a fleet of trucks around,
having guys sorting recyclable material at the curb. The trucks
pollute. The (drop-off) centers work well. Virginia Beach made the
right decision, and the rest of the cities should do the right
thing.''
Linda Whitt (Virginia Beach): ``I'm very much a recycler. I try
to recycle everything. I recognize that it is human nature that most
people probably won't take the initiative to bundle their stuff up
and take it (to a drop-off center). In general, I am very much in
favor of curbside recycling because of all the rest of the people
who may not do it. I want this planet to last a little longer.''
by CNB