I PLANNED THIS column on recycling before I learned about Debbie Devine's death last week.
But when I heard, I could think of no better tribute to Virginia Beach's recycling mother than to tell folks about how far recycling has come in our city since Devine first planted the seed years ago.
The former director of recycling for Virginia Beach, Devine passed away on March 15, according to her obituary.
I didn't know Devine well, but I sure remember what she taught me early on. Those were the days when she exhorted us to carry our recyclables in bags to free standing bins stationed around the city.
At the time, mainly plastic and glass bottles, aluminum cans and newspapers were collected. But back then, who knew that even they could be re-used?
It's amazing how far we have come. Not only do homeowners have blue bins that are picked up every two weeks by Tidewater Fibre Corporation, but also new avenues for recycling open up all the time.
"What Happens to our Trash and Recycling? The Story of our Stuff" was the topic of a session at the recent Virginia Beach Watersheds forum sponsored by Back Bay Restoration Foundation and Lynnhaven River Now.
Linda Minner, the city's recycling coordinator, knew Devine and her "joyful spirit, wealth of knowledge and experience and friendliness." Minner was one of the forum panelists, as were representatives from Tidewater Fibre Corporation and Goodwill Industries.
Here are some things I learned that day that could make us either more inspired or better recyclers:
1. If your blue can overflows before it's picked up and you need more space, you can get a second can for free. Call the City Public Works Waste Management at 385-4650. They will ask you a few questions to make sure you are using your can efficiently, and if so, a second can is all yours.
2. Those pesky caps on plastic bottles can now go in the blue can along with the bottles, though only plastic bottles with necks or pouring spouts, please.
3. Continue to discard the lids of glass bottles and jars - only clear, green and brown glass, please.
4. For ecologically attuned yogurt lovers, and most are, this is a great boon: You can recycle yogurt cups (number five plastic) at Whole Foods Market on Laskin Road.
5. Harris Teeter and some other grocery stores collect plastic grocery and cleaning bags for recycling.
6. Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees, three cubic yards of landfill space and 60,000 gallons of water!
7. Lynnhaven River Now sponsors an oyster and clamshell recycling program. The shells are used to build sanctuary oyster reefs. You can drop off your shells in outdoor bins at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center's east parking lot, at Whole Foods Market and at the Lynnhaven River Now office, 1608 Pleasure House Road, Suite 108.
8. Aluminum cans are 100 percent recyclable and can become new soda and beer cans on the shelves within 60 days.
9. Pak Mail stores at 1624 Laskin Road and in Strawbridge Shopping Center accept Styrofoam peanuts for recycling.
10. Cardboard can be recycled six to seven times without any additional wood from trees. Flat, clean and dry, please.
11. Clothes that are donated to Goodwill Industries that don't sell are baled and sold to be made into rags.
12. To find out more about the city's recycling program, visit: www.VBgov.com/wastemgt.
13. To find out about disposing of household hazardous waste, such as light bulbs, pesticides, paints and aerosol spray cans, also visit www.VBgov.com/wastemgt.
All you photographers out there who make this column so great might want to enter your vision of the Chesapeake Watershed in Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Save the Bay Photo Contest. Go to www.cbf.org for information. The deadline is April 11
HK, the banded male eagle that was born in a nest at Norfolk Botanical Garden, was seen mating with a banded female at Honey Bee Golf Club recently. Though no one has been able to read all of her band, it is known from the first two letters that eagle expert Reese Lukei banded the bird at the garden nest. That means the two eagles are at least cousins. Lukei said the female has to lay eggs soon because it is late in the season for eagles to breed.
In addition, the eagles on the osprey cell tower nest off Business Park Drive, whose photo was in a recent column, have taken over the nest and the female is laying eggs. Lukei watched her "get up twice and appear to turn an egg and settle back in the nest."
June McDaniels counted four occupied osprey nests back off the Long Creek Trail in First Landing State Park.
Joe Digeronimo photographed a juvenile eagle on the Chesapeake Bay beach recently and previously had seen it in an "intense air chase with a gull."
Deb DallaVilla, who was feeding bread crumbs to gulls from her car at Hilltop, photographed one on her car hood, looking at her as if to say, "Got bread?" She titled her photo "By G'ully."
Ed Butler reported 20 northern shovelers, ducks with big shovel-like beaks, in Mount Trashmore's lake.
Sandra Barker in Forest Hills in Western Branch reported her first painted bunting, a colorful male, just after reading about painted buntings on my blog. Frances Wolf reports that she has had a female painted bunting, all green in color, visiting in Wesleyan Pines all winter.
Judy Liberman in Lake Shores photographed a bluebird, the first one she had ever seen in her yard, taking a bath in a puddle.
Bill Niven sent a photo of a great horned owl and baby in a nest, discovered by James Deal in Hickory in Chesapeake. Great horned owls are early nesters. Lee White and her daughter recently built an owl house and hung it in their Little Neck yard. Within two weeks an Eastern screech owl was checking it out, and White snapped it peeking out of the box.
Woody Stephens and Thomas Brewster in Thalia are keeping an eye on a pair of Cooper's hawks that are nesting in the neighborhood.
It was a big week for Niven and Stephens. See Thursday Beacon's Close Encounters for birds they photographed in full mating regalia.
Robert Brown reports that he counted between 40 and 50 great blue heron returnees in their rookery off 64th Street in First Landing State Park. See more on my blog. Michael Ashe sent a photo of a great blue in Croatan's Lake Christine.
Karla Campbell sent a sweet photo of sunbathing turtles on a log at Sandbridge. Cynthia Kube sent a photo, taken by her daughter Kirsten Kube, of a turtle coming ashore from a pond to sun in First Landing State Park.
Claudia Lee on Indian Trail in Suffolk, alerted by her dog, discovered flying squirrels were "flying" in at night to dine on suet bricks she puts out for the birds. Lee had wondered why the suet was disappearing so fast.