TheRutabaga: Second Street becomes waste transfer station
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The Landmark Materials Transfer Facility, which opened this summer, has been a remarkable success.
Neighborhood development chief Jim Tolbert announced today that the section of Second Street SE beside the abandoned Landmark Hotel has become an RSWA-sponsored waste transfer station. The site, which is being called the Landmark Materials Transfer Facility, has actually been accepting construction and demolition debris, as well as careless source unseparated recyclables such as coffee cups and cigarette butts, since the Downtown Mall re-bricking project was completed earlier this year. Tolbert says the program has been a success so far.
“We’ve been full to capacity with trash and junk since June,” says Tolbert. “Folks have really been happy to have a place so close to the Downtown Mall to dump crap.”
Rivanna Solid Waste Authority director Tom Frederick is pleased with the program as well. Once every six months, he says, Allied Waste will come to the transfer site and transfer the trash to its transfer site at Zion Crossroads, which will then be transferred to the RSWA’s Ivy transfer site, picked through by hand, then transferred by Waste Management back out to Van der Linde Recycling at Zion Crossroads, where it will be sorted and then transferred to Richmond for recycling and transfer to China.
“This program is consistent with our planning on the planning for the strategic plan, which calls for planning for a study that will outline future scenarios for the planning process with regard to recycling initiatives,” said Frederick.
Asked what responsibilities the Authority will have in maintaining the site, Frederick said the Authority will handle payment to Allied, Waste Management, and the Authority, which will amount to about $5 million a year, and put a notice about it up on their website.
Downtown resident Kurt “mad dog” Burrows, who moved to a spot under the Belmont Bridge last year, says he’s been using the conveniently located transfer station since it opened. And he doesn’t care what it costs.
“I used to have to take my office paper recycling all the way down to the McIntire Recycling Center,” said Burrows, who says he does not own a car, or shoes. “The Second Street station allows me to continue my commitment to quality recycling without getting blisters on my feet.”
However, some critics feel the transfer site could become an expensive downtown eye-sore and stink pit.
“It’s just terrible, really, just really, really terrible,” says Woolen Mills resident Coxford Lynchman. “Do you like to look at trash on your 6am morning walk? I certain don’t. Recycling reshmycling. Just another political buzzword. I save and reuse everything I own, never throw a thing out. If people did that, we wouldn’t need this smelly, expensive thing.”
But Tolbert says the site will not become a problem.
“We’ve discovered that when it rains the hotel skeleton becomes a kind of urban water fall, which ends up flushing much of the stagnant trash residue into the storm drain system and reducing odor,” he says.
Asked what damage that might do to the local watershed, Tolbert joins many local citizens in deferring to Frederick, who also directs the Water Authority.
“We’ll be seeking input on commissioning a study to study the effects of the Downtown trash transfer site on the water supply once the planning for the post-implementation study on the trash site feasibility is complete, which will be discussed…” said Frederick before a reporter hung up.
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“TheRutabaga” is a relatively new and occasional feature satirizing items of local interest. (Here’s the last one.)
Hilarious!… but if one didn’t see the word “Humor” at the top of the story, it would be so easy to assume this was yet another Cville misadventure, much like the Mall Clock fiasco that’s now a-brewin’.
I’m sure there’s a lot of officials that understand this sentence. Thanks for taking the time to write this piece.
Best story I have seen in the hook in a long time. And I especially enjoyed the quote from the Woolen Mills resident.
Please enter this into the NPR 3 min. fiction writing contest –a sure winner –hilarious –where did they get this guy Frederick ?
Agreed with all posts above. Fine work, hookees.
Obvious fake, no way Tolbert knows that much about what’s going on!
Are we sure all of the deposits are safe? Any asbestos in the heap? Bring in the monitoring devices.
It already smells, And the flies!
The dump trucks are making too much noise.
Here we thought Charlottesville would welcome a gorgeous hotel, and instead we now have a glorified dump on the Mall. Shame.
kudos! love it!
Yes, best piece The Hook has had in a LONG time. Promote the writer! More, more!
It’s good to see Mr. Smithee making a comeback.
Great!!!! can we expand this program to include the ampitheater, then down through the bricks to the ice park, up mcintire, down west main, down 10th, down preston to the steps of the county office bld, through the doors to the second floor at the foot of the picture of the useless liberal BOS.
perhaps the next logical expansion should be across the street to the paramount, nothing going on in there anyway…
That was fantastic.
where’s the like button?
This is the reason why we have seen, once again, an increase in the amount of trash and debris along Route 250 in Fluvanna County. It is ridiculous for them take the debris and trash from the City, to Fluvanna County, then to Ivy, then to Richmond. When gas prices go up to $4.00 plus a gallon again and to continue this program we can’t imagine how much gas money will cost taxpayers who are footing the bill. Thank heavens at least Fluvanna residents don’t have to worry about paying for the gas just the trash, debris, noisy trucks, etc… that use Route 250 instead of I-64 at Zions Crossroads. If they can afford to pay for gas for multiple trips for this program then they can afford to take I-64 at Zions Crossroads instead of using Route 250 in Fluvanna County!
Pay Van der Linde to bring his orange containers and put them in various locations through out the City and County. Then, his company will pick them up, when full, and take them to his facility all in one shot! He will take what he can’t use to Richmond. No need to take make three or four other trips with the same debris. What a waste of gas and additional burden that is put on the roads from these wasteful, unnecessary trips! At least Van der Linde banned all of the trucks he owns off of Route 250 in Fluvanna County which is more than we can say for BFI/Allied Waste or what ever they are calling themselves these days! Get with the program.
I thought that was art in place.