THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605050051
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
In tracking the little events that led to Virginia Beach's big decision to abandon curbside recycling, the trail seems to begin at an unlikely place: Portsmouth City Hall.
There, in the office of Deputy City Manager Luke McCoy, came the initial suggestion in January that the Southeastern Public Service Authority consider a $1-per-home monthly recycling fee.
It was this same fee that spurred Virginia Beach two weeks ago to opt out of SPSA's curbside program, souring one of South Hampton Roads' most successful efforts at regional cooperation after a seven-year run.
In the aftermath, uncertainty and frustration remain: Virginia Beach has pledged to expand a do-it-yourself recycling program, although many residents fear the plan will decrease participation; SPSA is scrambling to make up lost revenue from its biggest customer; and other cities and counties have been forced to ponder their own recycling futures.
McCoy's reasoning for pushing the fee is simple: In an era of increasing competition from private trash haulers, he felt it was time that SPSA pay its tab for curbside recycling.
Since its birth in 1989, the program has lost money, and faced criticism of its ineffiencies and limits. But with a $1 fee, McCoy argued, SPSA would at least generate enough money to cover the program's $2.4 million annual cost.
``I made the motion we recover the full cost of the program,'' McCoy said Friday, ``and I have no problem saying I think that's a good idea.''
After months of discussion, SPSA's board of directors approved the $1 fee at its April 24 meeting by a 4-3 vote. Representatives from Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Southampton County voted for the fee. Isle of Wight County, Suffolk and Virginia Beach voted against it.
Chesapeake's representative, Peter P. Duda Jr., did not attend the meeting, nor did his alternate, interim City Manager Clarence V. Cuffey.
A tie vote would have killed the measure.
Also proposed that day was a 50-cent-per-home recycling fee, which SPSA's Executive Director Durwood Curling had endorsed for months. Suffolk's board representative, City Manager Myles E. Standish, tried to get the lesser fee voted on first. But McCoy blocked his request, and the $1 proposal was narrowly adopted.
Afterward, unbeknownst to SPSA or other member cities, Virginia Beach officials quietly announced that they were dropping out of the recycling program, saying they could not support paying an estimated $1.3 million in curbside fees.
Curling said Friday he still has not received an official document informing him of Virginia Beach's departure.
He may never get one.
Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf said she now is willing to listen to SPSA about trying to resurrect a recycling fee of less than $1. Discussions, she said, could take place this week.
``Nothing's set in concrete,'' Oberndorf said. ``We may be able to strike a bargain that will continue to permit us to have SPSA pick up the recycles at a more modest rate.''
Curling said Friday he checked with SPSA's attorney about the legality of such a move, and was told that it would take five of eight votes from the board to reconsider the issue.
McCoy vowed to fight any such attempt, even suggesting a court challenge. ``I'm not going to support that,'' he said. ``That's not right.''
Two of the biggest complaints against SPSA's program are that too few goods are accepted at the curb and that crews take too long to separate materials, driving up labor costs.
Currently, SPSA collects aluminum cans, newspaper, steel food cans, plastic milk and soda containers, clear glass and household batteries. Colored glass, other types of plastics and cardboard are among the items not accepted.
The solution, called co-mingling, has been in the works for years but remains elusive.
As envisioned, residents could throw away just about anything in their blue recycling bins, and crews would simply toss the contents into the back of a truck and move on. Later, at special collection plant, workers would separate the materials into specific categories and sell them to private markets.
SPSA borrowed $3.8 million in 1993 to build a collection plant, but the agency has had trouble finding an appropriate site, Curling said. Negotiations continue.
Help may be on the way, however.
Last week, Tidewater Fibre Corp. purchased a small collection plant from Chambers Waste Systems of Virginia and moved it to South Hampton Roads as a test facility for SPSA, Curling said.
If the plant proves capable of processing the huge amount of materials that SPSA gathers, Curling said a deal could be struck with Tidewater Fibre to operate the plant permanently for the agency.
He conceded, however, that SPSA would not be able to accept colored glass or other new products. The plant would only reduce labor costs by hastening collection on the street; crews no longer would have to separate so thoroughly at the curb, Curling said.
``Things are moving pretty fast right now,'' he said.
Until now, recycling costs were lumped together in what SPSA charged its customers for services. Called a tipping fee, the charge reached $48.20 per ton of garbage that SPSA handles.
But by breaking off curbside recycling and creating a $1-per-home fee for the program, the board could lower the overall tipping fee, to $45 per ton. Fewer services, lower tipping fee.
While good news to most cities who stood to pay less for disposal of a ton of trash, Virginia Beach and Suffolk gained nothing. Suffolk is exempt from paying tipping fees because it hosts SPSA's regional landfill.
Similarly, Virginia Beach receives a capped rate of $41 a ton since it allows SPSA to bury incinerator ash and other debris at its Mount Trashmore II landfill.
But as city officials figured before the big vote April 24, they would have to pay more for a curbside recycling program that was not improving and not see any savings from the reduced tipping fee, since it would not apply to them.
Facing that no-gain position, they dropped out. by CNB