THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 20, 1996 TAG: 9607200214
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 89 lines
Two weeks after curbside recycling ended, residents appear willing to carry the tradition forward. They have dropped off more glass, plastic, paper and metal than expected.
An estimated 300 tons of recyclable material has been delivered to the city's expanded drop-off centers, twice what the city had expected to receive in that time, city recycling coordinator Debra C. Devine said Friday.
On July 1, the city ended its long-standing agreement with the Southeastern Public Service Authority for curbside recycling, alleging inefficiencies and objecting to a new $1 per household monthly fee. The fee was later dropped to 50 cents and applied to the other South Hampton Roads cities that continue to have curbside pickups.
In its place, Virginia Beach beefed up its existing drop-off centers to 50 and announced that it would accept all grades of plastic and paper, a departure from the SPSA plan, which accepted a more limited range of material.
But not all news was good. While the city's new drop-off centers have more room, some bins are still filling up too quickly and becoming messy and strewn with litter.
To make the sites more tidy, Devine said Virginia Beach will add to 23 centers the old white igloos that once took paper.
``The reason that some are overflowing is that people are using them,'' Devine said. ``In the short term, that stinks. But in the long term, that's wonderful.
``It's a good thing that Virginia Beach is recycling,'' she added. ``We're having tremendous participation, well beyond what the public said it would do. At first there was considerable outcry that the public would not participate. But they are. I'm proud of the residents for carrying onward.''
Some are unsure whether residents will continue to recycle at historic rates. Susan M. Gentry, a resident of Carolanne Farms, made the trip on Friday to the Kempsville Recreation Center with her daughters, Erin, 9, and Alyssa, 6.
Gentry said she misses the curbside service and is not sure yet if she will continue to make the trip to the recreation center to drop off the milk jugs, aluminum cans and other things she and the girls were unloading.
Still, she found the site convenient, especially since it is close to a public library and generally close to where she runs errands.
``I'm not sure we'll keep it up,'' she said. ``We'll see.''
P. Wade Kyle, the administrator for the department of Public Works, Waste Management Division, said residents have gathered in 14 days what it would have taken an entire month to collect.
``That was the same rate that SPSA would have collected going door to door,'' he said. ``It was far greater participation than we imagined.''
But Kyle cautioned against people being too optimistic.
``I think this will level out. My guess is some people had material stockpiled in their homes, and they took everything to the center. We'd like to wait a couple of months and get a feel for the volumes that are out there.''
Despite the optimism in Virginia Beach, SPSA remains skeptical of how successful the Beach program will be.
Joe Thomas, SPSA's director of recycling, provided some numbers that were slightly different than those provided by the city. He said that in the last full month SPSA had curbside collection, it collected 998 tons of material - considerably more than the 600 claimed by the city.
``The bottom line is they're probably getting 25 to 30 percent of what was in their curbside weight,'' Thomas said.
Like Kyle, Thomas said it's too early to say if the new program is a success.
Still, he had concerns about the design of the city's new drop-off containers, which he believes hinders their effectiveness.
``They can't fully use the space in their containers,'' he said. ``They're too high. What happens is the newspaper fills up first; then they have to get them hauled away, so only half the container is used.
``This is because of where the slot is located,'' he added. ``That's not very good.''
The expanded drop-off centers are only a temporary measure while the city explores ways to operate its own curbside pickup program. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by MORT FRYMAN\The Virginian-Pilot
Susan M. Gentry of Carolanne Farms and daughters Alyssa, left, and
Erin, center, add their trash to the bin at the Kempsville
Recreation Center. Gentry said she misses curbside service and isn't
sure if she will keep making trips to the center.
Photo by MORT FRYMAN/The Virginian-Pilot
A family that recycles together: The Gentrys, from left, Erin,
Alyssa and Susan, are tossing their trash into bins at the
Kempsville Recreation Center - for the time being. Will they keep it
up? ``We'll see,'' Susan said.
KEYWORDS: RECYCLING by CNB