Traveling trash
Piles of imported trash continue to grow in Virginia.
Date published: 6/28/2005
HERE'S A NEWS flash for you: Virginia took in more out-of-state waste last year than it did the year before.
Well, maybe that's not exactly breaking news, because Virginia has imported increasing amounts of refuse every year, except one, since the General Assembly passed a law in 1997 requiring an annual trash audit.
In 2004, 27 million tons of rubbish was received at Virginia landfills, about 7.8 million tons of that coming from outside the commonwealth. That out-of-state waste figure represents an 18 percent increase over 2003, when 6.6 million tons came to reside in and stink up Virginia.
Accepting other states' dregs, and the truck traffic and exhaust that comes with it, has become big business in Virginia, helping many localities keep their tax levies artificially low. It's hard for counties with the right facilities to just say no to that easy money.
The King George County landfill accepted 1.4 million tons of solid waste last year, the second-highest total in Virginia, and most of it was foreign trash, generating $7 million in county revenues. That's more than half the cost of the county's new elementary school. Maybe county officials should adopt the slogan: "What's that smell? That's our cash cow!"
While those localities that accept out-of-state trash are being spoiled by the revenues they receive in exchange, a more objective view suggests that Virginia ought to be able to control the amount that comes in. To that end, Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-1st) is continuing work toward passage of legislation that would give states some regulatory power without running afoul of federal interstate commerce laws. The congresswoman says King George is the only locality in her district opposed to anti-trash legislation.
Meanwhile, there are two scenarios brewing that could allow Virginia, the nation's No. 2 trash importer, to snatch the No. 1 ranking from Pennsylvania. The Keystone State currently imports about 3 million tons of garbage a year more than does the Old Dominion.
First is the anticipated importation by Waste Management, Inc., of trash from New York City, which would travel by barge down the coast then up the James River to a drop-off site at Shirley Plantation, where it would be trucked to the huge landfill in Charles City County. Jim Sharp, executive director of Campaign Virginia, a group fighting trash importation, estimates that barging could add one million to three million tons of imported trash to Virginia's annual totals.
Second, Pennsylvania is using up landfill space faster than Virginia, and because of new fees and a lack of rail accessibility, some trash previously destined for Pennsylvania is now headed to other states, including Virginia.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is hog-tied when it comes to dealing with this deluge of refuse. All officials can do is make sure it doesn't threaten Virginians' health or their environment. Because money talks, the debate over Virginia's addiction to imported trash won't end until the state gains some sort of regulatory control. In the meantime, count on it--more pristine Virginia countryside will be defaced with mountains of rotting, stinking garbage.
Date published: 6/28/2005