Solid Waste Management (Conservation Currents, Northern Virginia
Soil and Water Conservation District) Fairfax County has
developed a new solid waste management plan at the behest of the
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The plan is an
integrated community strategy for dealing with trash and
recycling for the next 20 years. It must address all aspects of
solid waste, even those not directly handled by county staff.
Most trash and recyclables in the county are collected by
private haulers. About 13% is collected by county crews. Most of
the trash passes through the I-66 Transfer Station where smaller
truck loads are consolidated into tractor trailer loads that are
transported to the waste-to-energy (WTE) facility at the I-95
Landfill complex. At the WTE, the waste is burned and used to
generate electricity—enough to serve 70,000 homes annually.
Recyclables are collected curbside or at drop-off centers and
transported to a materials recovery facility. There the
materials are sorted and shipped to th