THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 25, 1996 TAG: 9601250419
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
The regional trash authority proposed a first-ever curbside recycling fee Wednesday that would affect more than 241,000 homes in South Hampton Roads.
A monthly fee of 50 cents per household was endorsed by the Southeastern Public Service Authority, although its board of directors also asked that a $1-a-month fee be studied.
The resulting new money - estimated at $1.4 million or $2.8 million a year, depending on which fee is used - is needed to offset mounting program costs and because markets for used paper, glass and aluminum have dropped dramatically, said Joe Thomas, SPSA's recycling director.
SPSA had hoped to make $2.2 million this fiscal year by selling recycled products. But the authority so far has netted only $617,000, according to budget figures.
Before any new fee is adopted, SPSA's board will hold a public hearing in April as part of its overall 1996-97 budget request. A decision should be made before July 1.
Homes where SPSA crews currently collect old newspapers, cans, clear glass and plastic bottles every two weeks from special blue bins would not be billed directly under the fee proposal.
Instead, the additional funds would be paid by the eight cities and counties that underwrite SPSA's operations - Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Franklin and Isle of Wight and Southampton counties.
Virginia Beach would pay the most, about $583,000 a year, because it has the most homes in SPSA's recycling program. At the other end of the scale, Southampton County, with only 320 homes, would pay about $1,920 a year.
Since curbside recycling was introduced in South Hampton Roads in 1989, SPSA has lumped together program costs with larger ``tipping fees'' it charges local governments for trash services, Thomas said.
The authority decided to separate recycling costs from tipping fees this year, he said, in part because it now has extended curbside collection throughout the region, to 241,184 homes.
``Now that everyone's in, we felt the time was right,'' Thomas said.
Curbside recycling has expanded from a small pilot program seven years ago to a popular service regionwide. But it has consistently lost money since its inception.
Thomas said a $1-per-month-per-household fee would more than cover the annual $2.2 million program cost. ``Give me a dollar and I could make this thing go,'' he said.
Durwood Curling, SPSA's executive director, said a recycling fee ``is the norm in this country'' and should be seen as the authority's attempt to cover its expenses.
About 40 percent of eligible homes in South Hampton Roads participate in curbside recycling, significantly more than the national average of 25 percent.
Since August, however, revenue generated from recycled products has begun to nose-dive, SPSA statistics show. Markets for used paper, glass and aluminum were skidding - mere months after demand for recycled paper was sky-high.
``These markets have always been up and down,'' Thomas said, ``and right now we're going through a real down time.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
VP
RECYCLING SERVICE
SOURCE: Southeastern Public Service Authority
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB