THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 3, 1997 TAG: 9702030066
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 69 lines
It sounds like one of those cheesy game shows on daytime TV: ``Recycling For Dollars.''
But regional trash collectors are hoping this cash-for-trash initiative helps reverse a frustrating trend in South Hampton Roads, where fewer people are curbside recycling old cans, bottles, plastics and newspapers.
Beginning today, the Southeastern Public Service Authority, or SPSA, will award $50 to each of two randomly selected homeowners who properly fill and set out their blue recycling bins for curbside collection.
``We've been kicking around a few ideas to increase participation, and this is one we thought might help,'' said David Horne, SPSA's recycling coordinator.
``Recycling For Dollars'' will be a weekly incentive program for the rest of 1997, and probably next year as well, Horne said. As part of the deal, SPSA each month will publish photographs of the winners, with their $50 checks prominently displayed.
The idea of rewarding such environmental friendliness is not exactly new. The city of Norfolk once offered cash to residents whose garbage was found to be free of recyclable goods during random inspections, Horne said.
The initiative is the latest effort in a public-relations campaign to get more homeowners to recycle. Since last year, the number of homes served by SPSA that participate in curbside recycling has fallen by 10 percent, according to agency statistics.
In December, only about 30 percent of the 148,000 households in SPSA's service area - which encompasses Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Franklin, and Isle of Wight and Southampton counties - set out recycling bins, statistics show.
That percentage was one of the lowest participation rates recorded since SPSA started its curbside program in 1989, according to statistics.
In its wake, this yearlong, downward trend has increased the cost of collecting recyclables and has driven down the revenues that SPSA makes from selling old cans, bottles and paper to private marketers.
Officials remain baffled by the trend. One answer may be SPSA's change in collection schedules. For years, the agency gathered bins every week, but in March 1995, a biweekly pickup was introduced, making it more difficult for residents to remember their recycling day. While SPSA has issued schedules, and is putting reminder signs at the entrances to some major subdivisions, participation rates have continued to lag.
Last summer, SPSA launched a public education campaign with the city of Chesapeake to help spark a renewed interest there. And while the effort led to some gains, Horne said, the campaign did not reach its goal of obtaining a 52 percent participation rate.
Chesapeake became SPSA's biggest recycling customer last year when Virginia Beach abruptly dropped out of the program. Beach officials cited their opposition to a new monthly recycling fee, while also noting that SPSA did not improve its services despite longstanding requests to do so.
Virginia Beach is trying to establish its own curbside program and has solicited bids from several companies.
SPSA has since upgraded its services, adding a faster collection routine, accepting brown glass and aluminum foil, and experimenting with an automated collection truck. ILLUSTRATION: THE RULES
The rules for winning SPSA's new ``Recycling for Dollars''
initiative:
1) Only residents now participating in curbside recycling are
eligible.
2) Residents must have their bins out by 7 a.m. on collection
day.
3) Bins must contain recyclable goods.
4) Only one winner per month from the same residence.