DATE: Tuesday, March 11, 1997               TAG: 9703110283

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   89 lines

REACTIONS TO BEACH RECYCLING PLAN MIXED CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER AWARDING CONTRACT TODAY

As word spread over the weekend that a new recycling plan is coming, some residents questioned why the city abandoned the old curbside plan.

The new one, after all, will cost the city $3.7 million - three times the amount of the old plan, if it had been left in place. That works out to $1.50 per house instead of 50 cents.

``Those who run the city are absolutely shameless,'' said Rich Sliwoski of Great Neck Farms. ``Just a short eight months ago they were telling us that the (Southeastern Public Service Authority) was an inefficient, self-serving bureaucracy trying to extend its existence on the backs of the poor citizenry of Virginia Beach.

``One dollar per household was an outrage and the subsequent reduction to 50 cents per household, proof positive that SPSA was a bunch of scurrilous rogues. They assured us that they could do it more efficiently and cheaper.''

Sliwoski was one of several residents interviewed Monday who tried to come to grips with the city's intentions.

This afternoon, City Council will consider awarding Tidewater Fibre a five-year contract to run a new curbside recycling program, which despite its costs will ease the task of recycling. Since July, residents who recycle have had to haul their materials to one of 50 drop-off centers located throughout the city.

The plan calls for restoring curbside recycling, using 95-gallon containers into which residents would dump everything they now recycle: newspapers, plastics, metals, glass and cardboard.

Twice a month, trucks owned and operated by Tidewater Fibre Corp. of Chesapeake would pick up the refuse and take it to a facility on Diamond Hill Road where workers would sort the material for eventual resale on recyclable commodities markets around the country.

About 85,000 homes would receive new wheeled containers while 15,000 townhomes would get 18-gallon containers. In exchange, the city would reduce from 50 to 22 the number of drop-off centers. Tidewater Fibre would maintain the centers and the curbside program.

At $3.7 million, the plan would - on a per-house basis - be the most expensive in the region, but it also would offer convenience and accept a wider range of materials than the plan run by SPSA.

Sliwoski took exception to comments made by P. Wade Kyle, the city's waste management administrator, who helped formulate the new plan.

``We want to provide a service they want,'' Kyle said Friday when the plan was unveiled. ``If it costs a little more to do that, then we feel comfortable in providing that to them.''

Sliwoski said: ``This strikes me as the epitome of arrogance. I do not consider a 200 percent increase in cost a `little more.' And it's only 200 percent if the city's projections are fairly accurate. Unfortunately I rather believe they are wildly optimistic.''

Sliwoski said he would prefer that the money be spent on schools and would like to see an independent consultant review the plan.

But there are others who like what the city is proposing, even if they too are a bit anxious about the price.

``I think it's wonderful,'' said Pam S. McIntyre, a resident of Kennet Grove, who spent part of Monday recycling at the Mount Trashmore drop-off center. ``It'll be wonderful to have curbside service again. I found myself throwing away a lot more stuff because I didn't have curbside service.''

Asked if she thought the new plan was too expensive, McIntyre said she didn't feel qualified to comment on that, having not read the city's budget.

Stephanie Carver, a Windsor Woods resident, found herself a little annoyed that the bins at the Trashmore site were full. But she likes the idea of curbside service and considers the additional cost to be a trade-off.

``It'll just save me in gas money,'' she said. ``I don't really know why they got rid of the old system. It was a good one.''

Councilman Louis R. Jones, who represents the Bayside Borough, said he was getting mixed reactions from his constituents.

``Surprisingly, I'm getting a lot of people who are not in favor of it,'' he said. ``I think that's unusual because oftentimes people have a warm and fuzzy feeling about recycling.

``A lot of them don't want to have two containers outside of their homes. That's the main objection I'm getting, particularly those who live on small lots. We'll see what kind of public reaction we get tomorrow.''

Jones said the new plan is ``much better than what we had before'' because it takes more recyclables and the bins are bigger.

Councilman William W. Harrison Jr., who represents the Lynnhaven Borough, said he had not received much comment on the issue recently.

``The few that I did hear from are questioning how we will pay for it, and whether a fee is not more equitable so that condo owners or businesses that are not receiving the service are not charged for the program.''

Still, he said that most people whom he has spoken to support the project.

``We received countless letters and phone calls saying we were dumb for abandoning it in the first place,'' Harrison said. ``We abandoned a program that was not as efficient as the one we're replacing it with.

``This will be a convenient program,'' he said, ``and one that people can take pride in.''

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