Fairfax County recently delivered hundreds of recycling bins to a manufactured homes community in Hybla Valley for free.
The 35-gallon, lidded carts were provided in response to years of complaints from Audubon Estates residents, whose private trash hauler has declined to provide designated recycling containers, according to the county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES).
Nearly a decade ago, Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity backed an effort to eliminate glass from Fairfax County’s single-stream recycling program.
Herrity now thinks the time is right to reconsider the decision.
The Fairfax County government is seeking ideas from the public and business community on modernizing its trash and recycling facilities and processes.
The Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) on Aug. 4 put out a formal request for expressions of interest — known as an RFEI — to gather input that could be used in future planning. The request is not an official bid, according to the county.
The Fairfax City Council recently approved an updated waste management plan that it says is needed due to projections that landfills across Virginia may reach capacity in less than 20 years, a rising population, and soaring costs for disposing of municipal waste.
Council members unanimously voted May 12 to accept the 87-page plan with 54 actions planned across two decades. The plan emphasizes developing effective government systems; education and outreach to city residents; reducing waste overall and emphasizing reuse; increasing the amount and quality of items recycled; and resource recovery for food and yard waste.
By Tram On and James Jarvis
Inside a small storefront in Vienna, neatly labeled dispenser bins line the walls. Wooden shelves are laden with bulk containers of everything from hand soap to vinegar, reusable bags to pasta.
Fairfax County’s efforts to divert more waste away from landfills have taken a literary turn.
The county launched a book reuse and recycling program last month that encourages residents to drop any unwanted books into a green donation bin at the I-66 Transfer Station (4618 West Ox Road) near Fair Lakes.
South County residents now have an option closer to home for recycling clothes and other fabrics.
After seeing robust participation at the I-66 Transfer Station on West Ox Road, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) has expanded a pilot program for textile recycling to the I-95 Landfill Complex (9850 Furnace Road) in Lorton.
Fairfax City is seeking community input on how it handles trash and recycling.
The city will hold a public meeting tonight (Thursday) from 7-8 p.m. at Katherine Johnson Middle School (3801 Jermantown Road) on its Solid Waste Management Plan, which is undergoing a state-mandated update and will guide trash, recycling and composting practices over the next 20 years.
Fairfax County leaders are tapping the brakes on a plan to potentially oversee trash collection in single-family neighborhoods countywide.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay announced yesterday (Tuesday) that a planned June 24 public hearing on the proposal to establish unified sanitation districts will be delayed until Oct. 14.
Fairfax County is seeing mixed results in its efforts to eliminate solid waste.
“We’ve made progress,” Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw, chair of supervisors’ environment committee, said after the Board of Supervisors received an update on the county’s Zero Waste program on Tuesday (May 20).
