Virginia Reports Drop in Waste Disposal Volume; Mirrors National Picture

Date: June 8, 2009

Source: News Room

As is the case nationally, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently reported a 5.2% decline in waste disposal in 2008 from the previous year. Wastes imported from other states, mostly Maryland, New York, the District of Columbia, North Carolina and New Jersey, dropped by 7.5%. DEQ spokesman Bill Hayden blamed the slower economy. In 2008, waste created within Virginia decreased by 842,000 tons to about 15.4 million tons, the report said. Waste imports dropped by 533,000 tons to about 6.6 million tons. According to the Waste Business Journal, the decline in volume is consistent with the national picture. WBJ said that last year witnessed the first decline in residential waste volumes in at least 20 years and that commercial and industrial waste generation, particularly those from construction and demolition wastes (C&D) that are closely tied to the economy, were off by as much as 20% over the year.

Of all the waste managed in Virginia, 79.3% was buried in landfills, 11.9% was incinerated and the rest was dealt with by means such as recycling.

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