THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 3, 1996 TAG: 9606030002
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 108 lines
The sun was shining, and a fresh breeze had kicked up. Just the kind of glorious spring weekend for. . . a tour of a tire-shredding plant?
Sure enough, nearly 200 people gathered Saturday in industrial Portsmouth for the first-ever public tour of trash and recycling facilities run by the Southeastern Public Service Authority.
``It's my pleasure to welcome you to garbage central!'' a smiling Durwood Curling, SPSA's executive director, told the crowd. ``We're proud to be your garbagemen.''
Among the assembled curious was a church group, a retired Navy engineer in suit and tie, several kids dying to sit inside a garbage truck, a Brownie troop and plenty of concerned citizens who wanted to see firsthand what happens to their trash once it leaves their sight.
``It's a little unusual, a little bizarre,'' admitted Charles Kessler, of Norfolk, who brought his two children to the free event. ``But it's different. The spice of life. Plus, you can get pretty sick of just going to soccer and baseball games.''
So many people wanted to attend, in fact, that SPSA had to turn away a handful of would-be tourists for lack of space, said event organizer and authority spokeswoman Felicia Walker Blow.
A second tour is planned for September, she said, and it's half-full already.
``It's clear that there's a heightened awareness of things in the environment,'' Walker Blow said in explaining the keen fascination with SPSA's extensive waste system. ``And it's not just tree-huggers, you know. It's people like you and me who want to know what's going on with their trash.''
In the morning, plush, air-conditioned buses carried half of the tourists to the regional landfill in Suffolk. The other half donned hard hats and shuffled through SPSA's huge, loud refuse collection plant in Portsmouth.
After a lunch break - which also included a raffle for a free 40-pound bag of compost - the tourists switched locations. And six hours after they began, they could consider themselves trash experts.
``I've always wanted to see this,'' said 77-year-old Evalyn Rule, of Portsmouth. ``But you don't exactly walk up and knock on the door.''
Ravon Allen, a 7-year-old from Chesapeake, was not much impressed by the sprawling composting yard at the landfill. ``It's just a bunch of dirt,'' he said after grabbing a handful of mulched leaves and grass. ``That's not fun.''
However, he lit up like a firefly at the sight of the automated tire-shredder, a powerful, greasy machine that turns heavy tires into little rubber chips.
``Cool!'' Allen yelped as he watched tire after tire travel a conveyor belt to the steel teeth of the shredder. ``That's the best thing we've seen.''
Allen was one of 11 children who signed up for the tour from Solid Rock Church of God and Christ in Chesapeake.
``We hope they'll better understand the environment,'' church leader Tony Saunders said. ``This is a chance for them to learn something, and just to be together, really. We need to give them that opportunity.''
But why a landfill? Why not get together at the park? Or the beach?
``Well, we really didn't tell them we were coming here,'' grinned Donnell Davis, another church leader. ``But they seem pleased once we did. You know kids - as long as they get something to eat and drink and can take a nice ride, they'll be fine.''
SPSA has conducted private tours of its facilities for years. But those outings have always been for small, select groups, and not for the public at large. Until now.
The open-house Saturday was called ``Community Day '96.'' And it was marked by balloons, hot dogs, free T-shirts and, of course, a lot of trash. To attend, tourists had to reserve a spot by calling in advance. SPSA advertised the event earlier this spring through the newspaper.
The unorthodox idea of inviting people to view piles of garbage up close and in person is not new. Other cities have organized tours of their waste yards. In Hampton, officials have conducted a ``Tour De Trash'' since 1994. There's been a proposal to organize a tour of toxic-waste sites near New York city.
Garbage, it seems, is in.
``We have to turn people away every time,'' said Cheryl Copper, environmental relations manager for the city of Hampton. ``We've had repeat visitors. I guess some people just can't get enough of this stuff.''
Copper has gone so far as to produce a video of the Tour De Trash, which can be rented at a local Blockbuster video store.
Most kids Saturday did not seem enthralled in the details of this program or that waste system. To them, it was just a new experience, something different.
As her bus approached the high hill of the regional landfill, 8-year-old Precious Avelino raised her hand with a question.
``Can we climb up there and roll down the other side?'' she asked.
Tour guides Sharon Harris and Ron Williams looked at each other and giggled.
``I don't think so, darlin','' Williams said. ``Not today.''
For information on future tours, call SPSA at 420-4700. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by CANDICE C. CUSIC/The Virginian-Pilot
[Members of Brownie Troop 899 from Portsmouth....]
One crowd-pleasing stop was at SPSA's automated tire shredder at the
regional landfill in Suffolk.
A tour group listens to Randy S. Cribbs, plant manager at a can
recycling facility at the regioanl landfill.
Photo by CANDICE C. CUSIC/The Virginian-Pilot
A SPSA worker explains the composting facility at the regional
landfill in Suffolk.
KEYWORDS: SOUTHEASTERN PUBLIC SERVICE AUTHORITY LANDFILL
RECYCLE by CNB