The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed County Executive Bryan Hill on Tuesday (Feb. 4) to develop proposals refining how the county government deals with illegal dumping.
The directive was based on a Jan. 15 memorandum from the county’s Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) that laid out both concerns and possible solutions.
The board asked Hill and staff to return by the end of this fiscal year, which concludes on June 30, with an outline of existing programs, an analysis of existing programs aimed to curbing dumping, and any new strategies they might propose.
“It is a problem we need to address,” Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity said before the unanimous vote.
Sent by EQAC chair Larry Zaragoza, the memo made comments and recommendations based on two hearings that the commission held in 2024.
Currently, no single state or local agency has the primary responsibility for addressing dumping in Fairfax, Zaragoza wrote.
“EQAC received testimony from county staff that the problem would persist until there is a coordinated policy directed and approved by the Board of Supervisors to address the issue,” he wrote.
Some of the concerns raised at public meetings:
- Virginia Department of Transportation removal of trees has in some cases provided for dumping
- The Fairfax County Police Department is not enforcing illegal-dumping laws
- Contractors find the cost of proper disposal of waste to be burdensome
- Some contractors and residents do not know how to properly dispose of waste
- Distinct cultures see the impacts of littering/dumping differently
- County waste-disposal rates are too expensive
- County waste-disposal locations too far away
Concerns also have been rasied about the ineffectiveness of current no-dumping signs and of cleanup initiatives.
“Soon after a cleanup occurs, the dumping continues,” the memorandum to supervisors notes.
In its memo, EQAC also proposed targeting more comprehensive ground-level outreach to small-business owners, residents with limited English proficiency and communities around dumping areas.
