Virginia is the nation’s second largest importer of other state’s municipal waste. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has estimated that Virginia received nearly 6.6 million tons of waste from other states in 2003 (nearly 5.5 million tons of that were municipal solid waste) and expects similar or greater numbers for 2004 when reported. Campaign Virginia estimates that we will receive 7-8 million tons of out-of-state trash per year within the next few years.

On July 4, 2001, New York City officially closed its last remaining, and the world’s largest, landfill, called Freshkills. New York City had been disposing all of its residential waste, 4.3 million tons a year, in Freshkills.

The waste companies that own out-of-state landfills in Virginia have bid to bring New York’s waste to Virginia, as the city began sending less waste to Freshkills in mid-1997. A number of short-term contracts have been awarded to companies that are bringing the waste to Virginia. The city is in the process of awarding long-term contracts.

In January of 2003, the U.S. Attorney General’s office, Governor Warner's office, and Waste Management Inc. reached a settlement regarding a lawsuit over the Commonwealth’s attempt to ban trash barges on Virginia’s major rivers. The settlement will lead the way to trash barges and potentially millions of tons more of out-of-state waste coming up the James River as early as August 2003.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that trash is an item of commerce, and is protected by the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution. This means that states and communities will not have the authority to stop, or even limit, waste shipments from other states until Congress grants them this right. In the meantime, if a waste company can satisfy environmental standards, the state and counties have no choice but to grant the companyh a landfill permit and let the company bring in waste from wherever it wants.

Since 1990, Congress has been considering Interstate Waste legislation that would grant this authority. Still, in spite of bipartisan support from most members of Congress, national bills have stalled largely due to pressure from the waste industry and exporting states like New York.

Virginia has finalized regulations concerning barging trash up our rivers. We anticipate a significant increase in the tonnage of trash brought in once barging begins. In a lawsuit where the waste industry sued Virginia, Waste Management outlined their plans to trash Virginia – they want to bring 60% of NYC’s residential waste here, already are bringing a substantial portion of 8,000-10,000 tons per day of commercial waste to VA, and are guaranteeing capacity in their VA landfills to other waste companies.