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Green team: Lee, Scott counties urge residents to recycle

Published August 8th, 2009 | 1 Comments

Scott County recycling employee Teresa Graham sorts through plastics at the recycling bins on East Carters Valley Road recently. David Grace photo.

Officials in a pair of Southwest Virginia counties are hoping an increased focus on recycling will not only help the local environment, but save some money as well.

To accomplish that goal, both Scott and Lee counties are trying to raise awareness about newly implemented recycling programs aimed to cut down on the amount of trash they haul to outside landfills.

Scott County Assistant County Administrator Kathie Noe said going green can provide multiple benefits.

“The first reason for the push to recycle is, of course, to benefit the environment. And to be good stewards of the environment we have to reduce the amount of garbage we dump in landfills,” Noe said. “The second reason is expense — the amount of trash we haul is charged a per-ton fee. So every item we recycle or reuse will reduce the tonnage that we are hauling.”

With prices in the recycling market suffering from the recession, Lee County Litter Control Officer Ashley Long said the county’s goal is to save money, not necessarily make it.

“Whenever I presented this to our Board (of Supervisors), I wasn’t presenting them how much money we will make,” Long said. “I was presenting how much money we will save by not having the waste that we recycle shipped to Bristol.”

The county is charged a $250 fee for each pickup, Long said, and the recyclable goods are taken free of charge.

“From my projections, we’re going to save a lot more money than we spend on the entire program,” Long said. “The program is so simple at this point, the only expense that the county has are bags and gas.”

Lee County’s landfill was closed in 1996, while Scott County shut its landfill down earlier this year.

As a result, Lee County pays nearly $40 for each ton of trash hauled to the Bristol, Va., landfill. Scott County, which now hauls trash itself to Hawkins County, pays a tipping fee of $20.50 per ton.

Although the increased focus on recycling in each county is relatively new, Long said Lee County residents have taken to the program quickly since its July 20 start.

“The actual response to the program so far has been outstanding. We weren’t expecting it to be so great,” Long said. “There’s people that have been saving their stuff for months. At first we thought that might be what the high numbers were as far as product, but now we’re seeing that it hasn’t leveled off at all.”

Both programs center around placing recycling bins at solid waste sites throughout each county.

“We’re trying to make it as affordable to the county as possible, but also as effective as possible,” Long said. “We have six locations throughout the county. They’re small recycling centers where you can recycle cardboard. You can take cardboard, plastic bottles, mixed paper and newspaper.”

Most of Scott County’s 12 manned solid waste centers have boxes as well, Noe said, allowing residents to recycle plastic bottles, aluminum cans, newspapers, cardboard and scrap metal.

Attendants are being encouraged to assist citizens at the manned sites by informing them of the program and directing their recyclable materials to the appropriate bins.

Noe said the county administrative offices have also been recycling and trying to reduce paper waste as a way to lead by example.

With the programs now in place, Noe said one of the biggest challenges to successful implementation will be changing attitudes and behaviors of residents not used to recycling.

“Once we all get used to doing something the same way for so many years, then we have to try and change their behavior and get everybody used to doing it another way,” Noe said. “If they don’t have a reason to do it, it’s going to be hard to make that change.”

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As stewarts of GOD's creation I know GOD says we are all to lead by example,meaning in the words of our PastorRammond Hammonds at Weber City Church of GOD, I'd rather see a positive testimony than here one. Have those who are asking the scott county residence to recycle read the labels on plastic products lately? Certain States being,CT*MA*ME*NY*OR,DE*IA,VT*and MI give the consumer a monitary reason to recycle from 5-10 cents per plastic bottle of such as Food Club sparling water.Virginia*TN is not on the list Dairies rather than using Plastic for their milk products they delivered daily had deposit refunds on their milk bottle containers.Alumium cans used to give the consumers who recyled 20-30-40 cents per pound, since afterall they were the ones that got out and risk their lives to find,gather,crush,and take to the recycling centers to get money to feed their families,then the bottom went out of the price.There were no friuts of their labor.I know my now deceased father was one of them.He walked miles to find a sack of cans,bring them home and crush them. Now it is to save government money.What about the low income citizens of scott county. The Constitution draw up by man started out with Equality,Freedom and Justice for all.Now it's one sided.

Willie Bowen | 8/9/2009 - 11:48 AM - ( Comment

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