The Virginian-Pilot
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VIRGINIA BEACH
It began with a notion by Town Center rickshaw driver Brian Herman.
"I thought it was interesting there were no recycling bins in an area with lots of trash," said Herman, 21, an Old Dominion University student.
He handed off the idea to his boss, Seven Cities Rickshaws chief Andrew Bargy, who called Town Center managers. Nine months later, Town Center has outdoor recycling.
"It seems so easy," Bargy said. "But there were a lot of phone calls and meetings."
Four green containers were installed Thursday at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, California Pizza Kitchen, 1 Columbus Center and Town Center plaza.
The containers are not just green - as in the color - said Amy Cherry, general manager of the Town Center. They are a special, custom-mixed green -"Town Center Green" - which helps account for the $1,000-per-can price tag.
Town Center's light poles, sign poles and other fixtures are all Town Center Green. The nearby awning at McCormick and Schmick's Seafood looks Town Center Green too.
"No," Cherry said. "But a very close match."
The rickshaw drivers, whose three-wheeled bicycles bear recycling emblems, now see themselves in a new role: Recycling police.
"I'm just really excited it's here," Bargy said.
He has two observations about the containers, however.
They look like R2-D2, the robot of "Star Wars" fame.
And: "They should have been blue."
John Warren, (757) 222-5114, john.warren@pilotonline.com
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