Virginia Gazette Last Word for July 9: Depleted landscape; Recycling; Beware of scams

Depleted landscape

"Our best birds are declining in number and there's little change in sight. Our gardens need birds. The land is being skimmed for housing developments and replaced with skimpy, lookalike houses. It's heartbreaking when the bulldozers move in and the trees are cut down because birds are displaced. Great changes are taking place. Are we going to have a silent spring in a few years?"

James City issues

"To the people complaining in Seasons Trace about cats and a dog stalking their bird feeders, and digging in the flower beds. You are correct about the dog and the leash law. The dog's owner should control it and hopefully pick up the poop. But the cats are regarded as 'free roaming animals' and therefore are entitled to go wherever they please. You cannot control a cat; therefore, you need to protect your bird feeders as best you can. It is against the law to harm them even if they are on your property."

Clumpety-clump

"Capitol Landing Road has some serious problems too, about the seams. How many more weeks will it be before Public Works paints those much-needed stripes in our town after their paving? In James City County, VDOT re-striped its re-paved roads the next day."

Recycling

"Where do our recycled items go from Williamsburg/James City County? Is there a plant in our area or does it have to travel a long way, and what do they do with everything that they gather up?"

David Magnant, director of operations for VPPSA, responded: Recycled items goe to a County Waste material recovery facility in Chesterfield that is undergoing modifications. Like any MRF they must be updated with the latest ability to differentiate all the recyclables sent through the line. Typical MRF's have optical scanners, eddy current, magnetic head pulleys, blowers, shaker decks, to separate the different materials. While a facility undergoes upgrades, materials are baled and shipped. Currently some of the material from Poquoson and York goes to a facility operated by Bay Disposal and Recycling, and the rest goes to the County Waste facility."

"On the first day of pickup with the new recycling bins, the driver loaded the bin onto the truck with the mechanical arm, and proceeded to drive away while newspaper was flying all over our front yard."

Excerpt from:
Virginia Gazette Last Word for July 9: Depleted landscape; Recycling; Beware of scams