The City of Falls Church holds the highest recycling rate in Virginia, according to the Virginia Annual Recycling Rate Report issued recently by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The report compares recycling rates of 324 Virginia cities, counties, towns, and solid waste planning areas.
For calendar year 2010, 60.4% of Falls Church City’s total waste stream was recycled, compared to the statewide rate of 40.5%. The 8,075 tons of materials recycled in Falls Church in 2010 included paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, metals, yard debris and leaves.
Although Falls Church’s recycling rate is highest in the Commonwealth, the city has a more ambitious goal. The City of Falls Church Solid Waste Management Plan, a 20-year plan adopted by the City Council in June 2004, sets a recycling rate goal of 65%.
While Falls Church leads the way in recycling, the town of Vienna is the next most active recycler in Northern Virginia, with a 54.5% recycling rate, and Fairfax City is close behind with a 52.3% recycling rate, compared to Fairfax’s countywide rate of 41.7%
The DEQ says recycling is highest in Virginia’s most populated areas. Of the eight regions designated by Virginia environmental officials, Richmond tops the 2010 list with a 55.5% recycling rate. Northern Virginia is in 4th place overall with a recycling rate of 40.9%.
See the entire 2010 report here.
