DATE: Monday, June 16, 1997                 TAG: 9706140006

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   30 lines

ON ITS WAY

One year after Virginia Beach scrapped its curbside recycling agreement with the Southeastern Public Service Authority, a new, improved pick-up plan is about to be introduced.

To that end, 95-gallon recycling bins will be distributed around the city beginning next month and every homeowner should have one by October.

While we disagreed with the city's decision to end curbside recycling before another program was ready, Beach residents have continued to recycle despite serious inconveniences.

More expensive than the old plan, the new Virginia Beach curbside program promises to be the region's most ambitious. Residents will be able to put almost anything in these receptacles - the operative word here is co-mingled - and the bins will be collected twice a month.

The new blue containers are almost seven times larger than the little boxes used by SPSA. Unlike those open plastic boxes, these cylinders have lids and can be wheeled to the curb.

Virginia Beach residents are enthusiastic recyclers. It is estimated that 58 percent of Beach people recycle. By contracting with Tidewater Fibre to offer this comprehensive recycling program, the city has gambled on the continued civic-mindedness of the folks who live there.

If past performance is any indicator, Virginia Beach may soon be a successful example of comprehensive curbside recycling.

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