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Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, wants to put the lid on tons of trash heading into Virginia.
Wittman introduced a bill to give state and local governments control over imported waste – which makes up nearly a third of the trash in Virginia landfills.
States can not limit the importation of interstate waste under current law.
Wittman’s bill would allow states to cap the percentage of out-of-state waste processed at its landfills. And if a landfill receives less than 100,000 tons of municipal solid waste a year, local governments would have the option to limit imports.
“Being one of the national leaders in garbage imports is not something to be proud of,” Wittman said in a statement. “Virginia should have the ability to say ‘no’ to trash shipments from out-of-state.”
Virginia imports more than seven million tons of waste annually, according to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
--Neil Simon
Wittman introduced a bill to give state and local governments control over imported waste – which makes up nearly a third of the trash in Virginia landfills.
States can not limit the importation of interstate waste under current law.
Wittman’s bill would allow states to cap the percentage of out-of-state waste processed at its landfills. And if a landfill receives less than 100,000 tons of municipal solid waste a year, local governments would have the option to limit imports.
“Being one of the national leaders in garbage imports is not something to be proud of,” Wittman said in a statement. “Virginia should have the ability to say ‘no’ to trash shipments from out-of-state.”
Virginia imports more than seven million tons of waste annually, according to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
--Neil Simon