Virginia Waste Imports Down Slightly in 2007

Date: June 12, 2008

Source: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

The Department of Environmental Quality released its annual report today on solid waste management in Virginia. The report includes the amounts of solid waste managed in Virginia in 2007, and the amounts and sources of solid waste generated outside the Commonwealth.

The total amount of solid waste received at Virginia facilities during 2007 decreased by about 1.8 million tons from 2006. Solid waste includes municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris, vegetative and yard waste, and other types of waste. The total amount of solid waste from outside Virginia decreased by about 134,000 tons (1.8 percent) to about 7.1 million tons. The total amount from within Virginia decreased by 1.6 million tons (9 percent) to about 16.2 million tons.

Other findings of the report include:

  • Of the nearly 23.4 million tons of solid waste reported in 2007, about 15.9 million tons (67.9 percent) were municipal solid waste, which is trash from households and businesses.

  • The total amount of municipal solid waste generated outside Virginia was 5.6 million tons, a decrease of about 137,000 tons (2.4 percent). Maryland, New York, Washington, D.C., North Carolina and New Jersey accounted for 96.8 percent of all waste received from out-of-state sources.

  • Of the total solid waste reported in 2007, about 4.3 million tons (18.5 percent) were construction and demolition debris.

  • Of the total solid waste managed in Virginia in 2007, about 16 million tons (82.4 percent) were disposed of in landfills, about 2.1 million tons (11 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.

For more information, contact:
Bill Hayden
(804) 698-4447
wphayden@deq.virginia.gov.

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