Governor Kaine Announces Results of Virginia Solid Waste Reduction Report
– Commonwealth sees 10 percent decrease in out-of-state waste –

RICHMOND –Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced the results of the latest solid waste report completed by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). According to the report, the amount of out-of-state waste brought into Virginia declined by almost 10 percent in 2005. The report includes the amounts of solid waste managed in Virginia in 2005 and the amounts and sources of solid waste generated outside the Commonwealth.

“It is good news that Virginia received less out-of-state trash in 2005,” Governor Kaine said. “Accepting less trash from other states will help conserve landfill capacity and ensure that the Commonwealth will be able to meet its own disposal needs in the future.”

The total amount of solid waste received at Virginia facilities during 2005 decreased by about 2.6 million tons from 2004. Maryland, New York, Washington, D.C., North Carolina and New Jersey accounted for 96.5 percent of all waste received from out-of-state sources. Solid waste includes municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris, vegetative and yard waste, and other types of waste.

The report does not detail the reasons for changes in the 2005 solid waste totals compared with those from 2004. Possible reasons for the decrease include reductions in the amount of construction and demolition debris from the construction industry; the closure of facilities that accepted out-of-state waste; a reduction in the amount of storm debris compared with 2005; and out-of-state sources exporting less waste to the Commonwealth.

Other findings of the report include:

• The total tonnage of solid waste from outside Virginia decreased by 762,000 tons (9.8 percent), from 7.8 million tons to about 7 million tons.
• The total tonnage of solid waste from within Virginia decreased by 1.8 million tons (9.4 percent), from 19.3 million to 17.5 million tons.
• Of the nearly 24.5 million tons of solid waste reported in 2005, about 16.9 million tons (70 percent) was attributed to municipal solid waste, defined as trash from households or businesses.
• The total amount of municipal solid waste generated outside Virginia was 5.7 million tons, a decrease of about 184,000 tons (3.1 percent).
• Of the total solid waste reported in 2005, construction and demolition debris accounted for about 15.5 percent of the total.
• The amount of construction and demolition debris received in 2005 decreased by about 460,000 tons (35.4 percent) from out-of-state jurisdictions and by about 940,000 tons (24.5 percent) from within Virginia.
• Of the solid waste managed in Virginia in 2005, about 16.3 million tons (79.85 percent) were disposed of in landfills, about 2.1 million tons (10.5 percent) were incinerated and the rest was managed by other means, including mulching and recycling.

The full solid waste report is available on the DEQ web site at www.deq.virginia.gov.

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