Photos by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Valley Curbside Recycling employee Mike Kanavel picks up a collection bin before placing the items in the back of his van in Christiansburg. The recycling company was launched earlier this year.

Mike Kanavel tosses cans into plastic containers in the back of the Valley Curbside Recycling van. The new company has "several dozen" customers, which is slightly below its projections, co-owner Jeremy Hart said.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- After conducting a curbside recycling study, town officials will follow the progress of Valley Curbside Recycling for a year before taking further action.

In the study, released this month, Christiansburg employees contacted several localities that are offering curbside collection to determine their methods of collection. Three options were identified:

Give new business Valley Curbside Recycling time to grow and analyze its progress in a year.

Initiate a pilot program using a town garbage truck.

Purchase two trucks with compactors and provide one recycling bin per household for mixed paper.

At Tuesday night's Christiansburg Town Council meeting, the consensus was that Valley Curbside Recycling has created an efficient business model and should be given time to carry it out without town interference.

Co-owner Jeremy Hart said the company recently completed its pilot program of 860 homes and is now offering its service to any town resident whose trash is collected on Wednesday or Thursday.

"This is completely grassroots, starting from the bottom, but we hope to be able to serve all of the town very soon," Hart said.

Christiansburg residents are assigned a trash collection day based on the area in which they live, and trash is picked up by the town Monday through Friday.

Residents can sign up for Valley Curbside's service at RecycleNRV.com. The price is $15 a month for a three-month subscription, $14 for six months and $12.50 for a year.

Hart said jokingly that he looks forward to providing service to the addresses of some council members that he recognized on the collection list. Council members Brad Stipes, Ann Carter and Ernie Wade have their trash collected on either Wednesday or Thursday.

Valley Curbside has "several dozen" customers, which is slightly below its projections, Hart said.

Councilman Mike Barber was among those in favor Tuesday night of taking a "wait-and-see" approach to curbside recycling, while allowing Valley Curbside to grow.

"We've at times been accused of not encouraging business in Christiansburg," Barber said.

"It seems like they've got a pretty good setup, and they've done their homework on it."

Councilman Henry Showalter asked the council to considering starting a curbside recycling program late last year without knowing Hart and co-owner Ryan Stewart were starting a business. Showalter also said he's comfortable with the town staying out of their way until 2010, and then point analyzing their numbers to determine how to proceed.

"I feel 110 percent that they're going to be successful. Let's give them a year, supporting them in any way we can," Showalter said.

Councilman Jim Vanhoozier said he wants to help Valley Curbside get its name out, but the town should be careful since it is a private enterprise.

Town Manager Lance Terpenny said should the town list the company on its Web site as a service provider, he would ensure officials are being fair to any other companies offering similar services.

"If another enterprise comes along and wants to be in competition with them, we'll give them the same opportunity," Terpenny said.

The town has already helped Valley Curbside coordinate routes so recycling collections run smoothly. Terpenny said the town will continue helping as much as it can without spending public money.

"It looks like they're going to make a good goal, and it's time to support it," he said.