Virginia Issues Solid Waste Management Report for 2003

Richmond, VA— The Department of Environmental Quality released its annual report on solid waste management in Virginia. The report includes the amounts of solid waste managed in Virginia in 2003, the amounts and sources of solid waste generated outside the Commonwealth, and information on waste related to Hurricane Isabel.

The total amount of solid waste (excluding waste from Isabel) received at Virginia facilities during 2003 increased by about 2.2 million tons from 2002. Solid waste includes municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris, sludge and other types of waste. The amount from outside Virginia increased by about 1.2 million tons (21.6 percent), and the amount from within Virginia increased by about 1 million tons (6.2 percent).

Other findings of the report include:

• Of more than 25.2 million tons of solid waste reported in 2003, about 16.7 million tons were municipal solid waste, which is trash from households and businesses.
• The total amount of municipal solid waste generated outside Virginia was about 5.5 million tons, an increase of 980,331 tons (21.7 percent). Maryland, New York, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina accounted for about 93 percent of the waste received from out-of-state sources.
• The 2003 report also estimates available landfill capacity in Virginia and the expected life span of landfills at current disposal rates. Landfills reported capacity of about 253.9 million tons for municipal solid waste, which would last 18.3 years.
• Amounts of waste from Hurricane Isabel were reported separately, because the hurricane was an isolated event during 2003. Wood debris consisted of about 98 percent of the 3.4 million tons of waste generated from Isabel.

Courts have ruled that states cannot limit the disposal of out-of-state trash. Virginia passed legislation in 1999 that strengthened the state’s oversight of landfills, but the federal courts struck several of the provisions down. Congress is considering legislation that would allow Virginia to limit these imports, but without congressional action states can only ensure that landfills and other waste disposal facilities are operated safely.