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Stafford, city recycle nearly half of waste
Stafford and Fredericksburg leading area in recycling, according to state report
Date published: 11/27/2009
By RUSTY DENNEN Stafford County and Fredericksburg continue to lead the region when it comes to recycling. And Spotsylvania County is making steady progress, according to the latest Virginia Annual Recycling Rate Report put out by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The numbers are for 2008. Andrew Mikel, superintendent of the Rappahannock Regional Solid Waste Management Board landfill in Stafford, said education is key. "We're continuing education and outreach and to make recycling not much of a bother to do" for customers, Mikel said. The so-called R-Board landfill off Eskimo Hill Road recycled 46.7 percent of its solid waste last year, according to the report. That's up from nearly 45 percent in 2007. Mikel says recycling makes sense because it saves landfill space and money. "We are not tax subsidized. We have an incentive to generate revenue and that forces us to actively seek out markets for the materials and economize where we can," he said. Making a landfill section last 10 years instead of eight, for example, results in additional savings. One big improvement was the switch last year to a "single-stream" waste system. Recycle America, a subsidiary of Waste Management Inc., picks up and sorts the materials for sale to end users. A single-stream process results in an average recovery of up to 30 percent more recyclable materials while maintaining material quality equal to if not better than traditional recycling processes, the company says. The system is easier for haulers, who can use regular compactor trucks, and more convenient for customers. The R-Board landfill also mulches yard waste, recycles construction debris, composts biosolids and accepts aerosol cans and plastic grocery bags. It recently began recycling rigid plastics--materials used in children's toys, play sets and other products. Spotsylvania, meanwhile, is growing its program, recycling 41.3 percent of its waste, an improvement over 2007's figure of 32 percent. Caroline County was lowest among area localities at 10.4 percent. Statewide, 38.5 percent of waste was recycled last year, the same as in 2007. The Environmental Protection Agency's national goal for 2010 is 35 percent. Falls Church in Northern Virginia had the state's highest recycling percentage, 59.3 percent, though its volume of trash was small, only about 15,000 tons overall. The recycling rate is derived from reports submitted by the 71 solid waste planning regions in Virginia representing 324 cities, counties and towns. Read the report at: deq.virginia.gov/recycle/ Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Date published: 11/27/2009
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