Date: June 24, 2016
Source: Virginia DEQ
The volume of waste imported into Virginia increased by 3.4 percent last year, maintaining its position as the second leading importer of out-of-state waste in the country. By comparison, in 2014 (the most recent year for which comparative data is available), Pennsylvania led with 7.2 million tons imported, followed by Virginia with 5.2 million tons imported, Michigan with 3.5 million tons (mostly from Canada), Ohio with 3.1 million tons, and Kentucky with 2.5 million tons.
Virginia's waste imports represent about 25 percent of all waste disposed in the state. Last year that was 5.4 million tons out of a total of 20.7 million tons disposed. Most of the out-of-state waste came from Maryland (45.4 percent), New York (22.8 percent), Washington, D.C. (20.2 percent), North Carolina (5.6 percent) and New Jersey (4.3 percent).
Solid Waste Managed in Virginia During Calendar Year 2015
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Section 10.1-1413.1 of the Code of Virginia requires the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to prepare a report by June 30 of each year describing the amount of solid waste disposed of in the Commonwealth during the preceding calendar year. Facilities that have solid waste management permits are required to provide DEQ with information to prepare this report. As of May 4, 2016, 206 permitted facilities provided information on their activities for calendar year 2015 for this report.
Based on the facilities' reports, a total of 20,696,866.23 tons of solid waste was received at Virginia's permitted solid waste management facilities during calendar year 2015. Of this total, 15,335,670.43 tons originated in the Commonwealth and 5,361,195.80 tons originated from other jurisdictions.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) constituted 12,709,609.23 tons of the total amount of solid waste received during calendar year 2015. Of the total MSW received, 9,116,269.49 tons originated in the Commonwealth and 3,593,339.74 tons originated from other jurisdictions.
Five jurisdictions accounted for 98.31% of all waste received from out-of-state sources: Maryland (45.40%); New York (22.80%); Washington, D.C. (20.17%); North Carolina (5.64%) and New Jersey (4.30%).
During calendar year 2015, the total solid waste received from out-of-state increased by 3.40%. MSW and construction/demolition/debris (CDD) received from out-of-state decreased by 0.57% and 4.97% respectively, compared to 2014 amounts. Total out-of-state solid waste increased as a result of a 68.74% increase in out-of-state industrial waste from 238,405.06 to 402,283.02 tons. For waste originating in Virginia during the same period, the total solid waste, MSW, construction/demolition/debris (CDD), and industrial received increased by 2.40%, 3.63%, 1.04% and 16.54% respectively, compared to 2014 amounts.
Of the solid waste managed in Virginia during the year, 73.38% or 12,737,361.13 tons were landfilled on-site, 11.71% or 2,032,963.90 tons were incinerated on-site, and the rest was managed by other means (see Table 17). Of all solid waste received at Virginia facilities during the year, 61.41% was MSW, 18.76% was CDD waste, and the remainder was other types of waste (see Table 18).
Permitted solid waste management facilities reported that 9.51% of the waste they managed was diverted from disposal by recycling or mulching; 0.96% of the total waste managed was composted.
Permitted facilities are required to report on their available capacity and the expected life of the facilities based on current disposal rates. This information shows that at current rates, the remaining available landfill capacity is as follows: MSW - 23.3 years; CDD - 17.4 years; and non-captive industrial - 16.7 years. These projections do not account for population increases, changes in waste generation, or the closing of older MSW disposal units pursuant to statute.
At the option of the facility owner, Virginia Code § 10.1-1413.1 provides that the data collected may include an accounting of the facility's economic benefits to the locality where the facility is located. No facilities provided such information for calendar year 2015.
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