THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 28, 1996 TAG: 9606270181
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 42 lines
The little blue bins will disappear next Monday from the streets of Virginia Beach, but what many people don't realize is that a large number of Virginia Beach homes do not have curbside recycling now nor will they have it in the future.
Recycling can be compared to the wearing of seat belts - one assists in the saving of our environment, the other in saving lives. Both require a change in our lifestyle to be successful. Let's hope with proper education most people will learn why and how to recycle before it becomes mandatory (law) like the usage of seat belts.
I was lucky to have received a good early education on both. I've been recycling and wearing seat belts since the mid 1950s.
Although SPSA's curbside program is better than some programs, its limited collection of recyclables leaves much room for improvements. Virginia Beach's long-range goal for curbside recycling will improve upon SPSA's efforts.
Educating all citizens on this subject is critical for a successful recycling effort. The Virginian-Pilot/Beacon could assist in the education process by developing comprehensive articles on the subject. Many large metropolitan newspapers have presented outstanding articles. A complete in-depth study and report was done by the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1995.
With some minor redesign of the existing recycling center containers, Virginia Beach will have one of the best collection centers available anywhere.
The many excuses noted in previous letters could be overcome by better trip planning and following the rules for recycling set forth by SPSA and the Virginia Beach program. First, rinse all bottles (plastic and glass) and cans. Although not specifically required, crushing of cans and some plastic containers would help eliminate the ``over filling'' of the containers at the recycling centers.
The biggest advantage for me in using recycling centers instead of the blue bins is the collection of most types of paper, including corrugated boxes, paperboard (cereal boxes and other folding cartons), junk mail, discarded letters, magazines and brochures.
W. Atkinson Jr.
June 3 by CNB