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City, Stafford better than state average at recycling BUSINESS RECYCLING

Fredericksburg area above state average in amount of waste recycled

Date published: 12/26/2007

By RUSTY DENNEN

Fredericksburg and Stafford County are doing a better-than-average job of recycling municipal wastes, according to a state report.

The annual report, released by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, found that the localities, which operate jointly, recycle 40.4 percent of waste generated.

The state average is 38.4 percent.

Stafford and Fredericksburg handle waste and recycling efforts through the Rappahannock Regional Solid Waste Management Board.

Hampton Roads, according to the report, led the state last year, recycling 51 percent of waste. The rural Northern Shenandoah Valley was lowest, at 29 percent.

State law requires that most localities or regional waste management operations recycle at least 25 percent of waste generated. Rural areas and those with high unemployment must recycle at least 15 percent.

"The increase in recycling and the number of localities meeting the recycling rates reflects the continued support by Virginians for recycling in their communities," DEQ Director David K. Paylor said.

Julie May, an analyst for the Rappahannock Regional Solid Waste Management Board, says making the process known--and convenient--is critical.

"It's voluntary, so we depend upon people to be good stewards of the environment, and we try to make it as easy as possible," she said.

Stafford and the city have a "double stream" recycling program so that all paper products--office supplies, cardboard, newspapers, magazines--can be dropped into one bin. The same is true for items such as aluminum, glass, plastics and steel cans. They don't have to be separated first.

In addition to the regional landfill on Eskimo Hill Road in central Stafford and the Belman Road Recycling Center in Fredericksburg, there are eight drop-off sites in the two localities.

Last year, about 27,000 tons of home refuse was recycled. Businesses accounted for 46,000 tons.

"Each year the tonnage is going up," May said.

Recycle America, a subsidiary of Waste Management Inc., and SP Recycling Corp. pick up and sort materials and then sell them to end users.

Jimmy Brooks, recycling operations manager in Spotsylvania County, says recycling is growing at collection centers and that the trend is good for residents and the county.

Businesses account for the bulk of materials recycled by many area localities. The Free Lance-Star, one of Fredericksburg's largest private employers, for example, recycles vast amounts of paper products--from newsprint to office supplies. "We do, oh my gosh," said Jack Helms, the newspaper's production manager. In 2006, the newspaper recycled more than 1 million pounds of paper, 156,136 pounds of cardboard, 6,325 pounds of office waste and 18,950 pounds of aluminum press plates. Those items are stockpiled, then shipped to local recycling companies. For example, most paper waste goes to Tallant Industries, a building materials manufacturer in the Massaponax area. Plates go to Summit Recycling in Fredericksburg. Items that can be recycled bring in some money and save the company the cost of dumping it in a landfill, Helms said. --Rusty Dennen

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Date published: 12/26/2007