PRESS ROOM

NORFOLK, TEAMING WITH SPSA, WINS VIRGINIA RECYCLING HONOR

(CHESAPEAKE, VA, May 8, 2007) – Keep Norfolk Beautiful and the City of Norfolk, which teamed with the Southeastern Public Service Authority to expand curbside recycling, have won the Virginia Recycling Association’s 2007 award for “outstanding municipal recycling program.”
          Known as the “Big Easy,” the program in 2004 replaced 18-gallon bins with 95-gallon, lidded containers that are rolled out to the curb and automatically lifted and emptied into trucks.  From a recycling program that had about 24-percent participation prior to inauguration of the Big Easy, Norfolk has reached a city-record 57-percent participation.
          With this level of participation, the curbside recycling program is diverting at least 1,000 tons per month from SPSA’s Regional Landfill and saving the City of Norfolk $100,000 per month in processing costs known as “tipping fees.”

SPSA has been providing efficient and environmentally sound waste disposal services to the region and its residents since 1985. SPSA’s solid waste management system includes waste-to-energy, yard waste composting, drop-off and curbside recycling as well as other recycling programs, household hazardous waste collection, landfilling, landfill gas-to-energy and education programs. This integrated waste management system enables SPSA to put 57% of the waste it receives to a beneficial use, thus allowing the region to reduce its dependence on landfills.