THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 15, 1994 TAG: 9412150465
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Curbside recycling is expected to reach every household in South Hampton Roads by summer.
But to achieve its goal of doubling the number of homes in the curbside program from 150,000 to 300,000, the Southeastern Public Service Authority intends to cut its collection schedule in half.
Instead of picking up old newspapers, glass, aluminum and other reusable items every week, SPSA crews will empty those blue plastic bins every other week.
SPSA recycling director J.J. ``Joe'' Thomas said Wednesday that the changes, already being implemented in some neighborhoods, will save the agency as much as $2 million a year.
Expanding an expensive recycling program while saving money may sound like magic. But Thomas said that recycling trucks regularly return from their weekly rounds half-empty, and that it makes sense economically to empty bins every other week.
Cutting costs and streamlining operations is critical for the waste authority, which handles residential trash in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Franklin, and the counties of Isle of Wight and Southampton.
The public agency, created in 1973, is losing a regional trash war with private waste haulers and big corporations that have built their own landfills and can dump garbage at a much cheaper rate.
In addition to noting savings from changes in curbside recycling, SPSA officials Wednesday discussed charging residents a monthly fee of $1.20 to $1.50 for the service.
Other cities and states have adopted similar surcharges, he said. Such a fee would have to be approved by city councils in the region.
The SPSA board appointed a committee to study the fee, along with other money-making ideas.
About 12,000 of the 150,000 homes in the curbside program have already switched to the every-other-week collection schedule, Thomas said. Most of those are in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.
Complaints about overflowing bins and too little space have been ``very, very minimal,'' he said, adding that the agency has distributed a second bin to residents who requested another.
SPSA hopes to adopt the new collection schedule for the remaining homes by March, Thomas said, and then begin expanding curbside recycling to an additional 150,000 homes.
The process is expected to be complete by July.
The agency has long sought to expand its curbside program region-wide by 1997. But less-frequent collection will allow a quicker pace, Thomas said.
Also Wednesday, the city of Norfolk asked the SPSA board to pay for an expanded household hazardous waste program, which safely disposes of toxic materials often stored under sinks and in garages. The proposal was delayed for a month to better measure costs. by CNB