By RUSTY DENNEN

Most area localities are doing a better job recycling, according to a state report.

About 56 percent of waste was recycled in the Fredericksburg area last year, according to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. That's up 2 percent from 2010.

Statewide, that number was 43.5 percent, up from 40.5 percent during the same period.

Stafford County and Fredericksburg again had the highest recycling rate in the region, at 54.5 percent. They jointly operate the Rappahannock Regional Solid Waste Management Board landfill off Eskimo Hill Road in Stafford.

That's down from 57 percent of solid waste recycled in 2010. But among larger localities, the R-Board was second only to the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority, which recycled 57 percent. CVWMA includes twelve localities in the Richmond area.

The R-Board uses a single-stream system, in which recyclables, such as aluminum, glass, paper and plastics, don't have to be separated by the consumer. Most other area jurisdictions have multistream systems, requiring separate bins for recyclables.

The R-Board recycled 94,296 tons of the 179,547 tons it collected last year.

Next was Spotsylvania County, at 41 percent. It recycled 38,338 tons of 78,402 tons collected.

Rounding out the list: Fauquier, 39 percent recycled; King George, 38 percent; Culpeper, 29.4 percent; the Northern Neck, including Westmoreland, 24 percent; Louisa, 23 percent; Caroline, 17 percent; and Orange, 16 percent.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality collects the data from localities around the state and releases the information each fall. Each locality or planning unit composed of a group of localities must recycle at least 25 percent of materials collected unless its population density is less than 100 people per square mile or its unemployment rate is 50 percent or more above the state average.

Localities meeting those criteria, including several in the Fredericksburg area, had to have a recycling rate of at least 15 percent.

Some highlights from the report:

Principal recycled materials--paper, metal, plastic, glass, commingled materials, yard waste, wood, textiles, tires, used oil and filters, antifreeze, batteries and electronics--were up 14 percent statewide over 2010.

The amount of municipal solid waste going into landfills and incinerators in Virginia fell by 1.5 percent.

deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/Land/RecyclingPrograms/Reports/2011Recycling_Rate_Report.pdf

Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com