JUSTIN COOK The Roanoke Times

Waste Management employee Gerald Hostetter collects recycled items for the town of Blacksburg in a neighborhood off Toms Creek Road.

MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Gillie's restaurant employee Whitney Waller carries cardboard to a recycling center in downtown Blacksburg. Gillie's manager Anita Lackey coordinates a staff volunteer recycling effort at the restaurant.

The effort, which started a year ago, aims to develop a uniform recycling program and could expand to other Blacksburg businesses.

Now, officials working on the project are looking into the costs to implement it.

A program start date has not been determined, but it has already generated interest from merchants.

"We've been very, very pleased with the support that we've gotten from the business people and the citizens of Blacksburg who have talked about this," said Bill Claus, a member of Sustainable Blacksburg, a nonprofit organization.

Sustainable Blacksburg started working in spring 2008 on a project to increase and improve recycling downtown.

"We hope that if this project is developed and proves successful in terms of reducing the amount of refuse and increasing the amount of recycling, we hope to be able to expand this to all the businesses in Blacksburg not just in downtown," said Claus, who also serves as a co-chairman of the organization's committee on downtown recycling.

The project has involved groups of people, including members of Sustainable Blacksburg, town staff and downtown residents and merchants.

A proposed plan for the program was presented to town council in November 2008 and, after that, work started on a detailed plan. In July, Claus presented the council with an update on the program, and he and other committee members are now working with town staff on implementation.

The town has a residential trash and recycling program. Apartment complexes are required to recycle mixed paper and commingled containers, and they can, but are not required to, contract with the town for the program.

Businesses can contract with the town for the service but are not required to recycle, said Susan Garrison, the town's environmental and sustainability manager.

Mike Soriano -- owner of Champs Sports Bar and Cafe, Awful Arthur's and Wikiteria -- has worked with the downtown recycling implementation advisory group and said he is encouraged by the initiative.

"I think it has the support. It's a good cause," Soriano said. "I think it's the right plan at the right time that's going to succeed."

The recommendations for implementation of the program include requiring all businesses in the downtown area to participate in the refuse and recycling program and to develop a pay-as-you-throw system for refuse collection with fees based primarily on the weight or volume of material discarded.

Claus said the next step with the program is to survey downtown building owners to find out what is being done with collection and the volume of trash generated. The surveys should go out this month.

Claus said a concern from business owners is how much the service is going to cost them, which is why detailed cost estimates are being determined.

Once cost plans are determined, those figures will be presented to merchants for feedback, said Garrison, who also has been involved with the program plans.

"I think what's been key in the process is that we have had this partnership," she said about the efforts from Sustainable Blacksburg, the town and downtown merchants.

Garrison also applauds Sustainable Blacksburg for the organization's role in the process.

"They really did a great job of doing the legwork that needed to be done to build consensus," she said. "I just can't speak highly enough of what Sustainable Blacksburg has done in this case.

"In terms of the project itself, the fact that the downtown merchants are interested, that Sustainable Blacksburg is interested and the fact that the town is interested, I think speaks volumes about our values as a community."

Recycling recommendations

The following are some of the recommendations for a recycling and trash program for downtown businesses that were prepared by the core committee of Sustainable Blacksburg’s downtown recycling implementation group:

 Establish a single uniform recycling and refuse collection program for downtown Blacksburg businesses.

Require all businesses in the downtown area to participate in the program.

 Develop a “pay as you throw” system for refuse collection with fees based primarily on the weight or volume of material discarded.

 Extend the recycling requirement to all businesses in Blacksburg.

 Place public recycling receptacles at selected locations in the downtown area for pedestrian use. Some containers would be permanent, while additional containers could be set out during high foot-traffic periods, such as home football weekends.

For more information about the implementation plan, visit www.sustainableblacksburg.org and click on “Projects.”