Virginia Governor To Call for Statewide Trash Fee

Danielle Jackson

Richmond -- At an 11:30 a.m. news conference this morning, Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner was expected to call for a $5 per ton state surcharge on all trash disposed of in the state.

Administration sources say that the fee would generate approximately $76 million per year for state and local environmental projects, including land conservation, water quality improvements and brownfields restoration. The fee, they say, also is intended to discourage other states from sending their trash to Virginia for disposal.

Virginia Waste Industries Association (PWIA) chairman Jeff P. Burrier told The Virginian Pilot that the fee could raise trash disposal costs by as much as 20 percent in some regions.

The state General Assembly will consider the measure on April 17.