A new recycling facility and more food scraps collection could be coming to Arlington as the county revamps its waste-reduction strategy.
A proposed Solid Waste Management Plan seeking to divert 90% of Arlington waste away from landfills and incineration by 2038 is slated to go before the Arlington County Board on Saturday. Replacing the current plan adopted in 2004, the new document would guide initiatives in Arlington for the next two decades.
“This plan not only details the County’s programs and policies to maintain the state mandated diversion rate [of 25%], it includes voluntary program enhancements based on zero waste principles to serve as a roadmap for waste reduction, recycling, and overall solid waste programming activities in Arlington through June 2044,” the 139-page document says.
Over the next five years, proposed initiatives include:
- Creating two new community outreach positions
- Adding two new drop-off points for glass recyclables in National Landing and the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor
- Providing “direct technical assistance and support” to expand composting at multi-family and commercial properties
- Creating education campaigns around donation, reuse and waste reduction
- Building a recycling facility for hard-to-process materials such as mattresses, Styrofoam, textiles, carpet and small appliances
- Diverting leftover food and produce from farmers markets into compost and other recovery programs
The plan also calls for increasing the cost of households’ second and third trash containers.
“This change in fee eliminates the subsidy the County provides residents for producing extra solid waste and the need for additional trash carts,” the plan says of the proposed rate hike. “While the fee for additional trash carts will increase, it will not impact residents who request additional recycling or organics carts. No increased fees will be implemented for these programs.”
In the medium term (2029-2034), the plan calls for a “comprehensive organics management program” focused on food waste at offices and apartment buildings, involving a full-time compliance inspector.
(The county’s waste collection service primarily serves single-family homes and not larger multi-family buildings, which must contract for their own private waste hauling service.)
“Commercial and multi-family properties will be expected to establish an organics diversion program at their facility,” the document says.
Long-term goals, meanwhile, include:
- Advocating for state- and federal-level policy changes, such as “bottle bill” legislation to increase recycling of glass
- Hosting reuse and repair fairs to extend the life of materials
- Expanding the county’s equipment lending program
- Supporting more reusable packaging at local food service establishments
- Hiring an additional staff member at the Dept. of Management and Finance to revise the county’s Environmentally Preferable Practices and Purchasing Policy
- Creating an online dashboard to track county progress
Across 20 years, all initiatives are expected to cost between $11.3 and $17.4 million, according to a county report.
Though the Solid Waste Management Plan aims to meet the county’s current goal of diverting 90% of waste, that’s a best-case scenario.
“This diversion rate is aspirational and achieving it will require significant behavioral changes on the part of the Arlington community, as well as state and federal legislative action, which are beyond the control of the Arlington County government,” the plan notes. “Additionally, as with all government programs, these enhancements will be subject to resource constraints and the decisions of future elected officials.”
A diversion rate between 83.6% and 90.3% is projected if the county, state and federal government implement all proposed programs.
Arlington’s waste diversion rate has grown significantly in recent years, from 34.4% in 2017 to 47.4% in 2021, according to the plan. That has happened even as the total amount of waste generated has increased 28%.
The county started collecting food scraps in 2021, in the same green organics bin as yard waste.
Even if Arlington achieves its 90% recycling goal, meeting the county’s ultimate goal of “zero waste” will require “a fundamental change in the way the Arlington community goes about its daily business,” the plan acknowledges.
“While the County has little control over product manufacturing or types of products and packaging sold in the County, it can influence behavior change through expanded education and outreach,” it says. “The goal is for all sectors in the community to consider the waste impacts of all their purchases and activities, and to choose products that minimize waste. This perspective impacts all spheres of life in the County.”
