Virginia's solid waste and recycling policies and regulations are unclear and in need of specific improvements. DEQ should identify ways to incorporate source reduction into their regulations, and begin this process with the most-littered as well as the most difficult-to-recycle products. The ultimate goal should be an authentic, genuine circular economy, and the agency's plan should be in following with this goal.

Recommendations to the Agency:

The intent of Executive Order 19 (EO19) to reduce regulatory oversight by 25% is arbitrary and will not lead toward meaningful reduction or diversion of waste. EO19 should not serve as a guiding document in the Agency's Periodic Review process or considerations.

Increase and improve upon monitoring and benchmarks.

• Monitoring and data for recycling is lacking and provides an unclear picture of the current state of waste diversion in the Commonwealth. Recycling rates are likely much lower than what is reported due to the fact that litter is excluded in these metrics. Reporting is also not broken down by material, so we have no means to determine what areas of source reduction and waste diversion are the most important to focus on. Furthermore, it is unclear how recycling contamination impacts these rates. Without benchmarks or required improvements, waste diversion rates are unlikely to improve.

Measuring waste by weight rather than volume is misleading and inappropriate.

• Many of the most harmful materials that cannot be recycled are lightweight, flimsy plastic. Yet, while these plastic products may be quite harmful, they are generally lightweight, relatively speaking. Land use for landfills is impacted by volume of waste rather than weight.

Develop a comprehensive list of recyclables in Virginia.

• If something is not recyclable in Virginia, the DEQ should look into ways to recover management money of these products. This cannot happen until we know what can be recycled and the accessibility to these recycling facilities and processes.

Improve and increase goals.

• Once we have a more clear picture of what materials are in our waste stream and to what extent we are diverting waste, Virginia should increase the amount we are recycling. 80% mechanical recycling is more in line with where we should be.
• There should be a clear and measurable goal of overall reduction of waste generation in Virginia.

Require producers to achieve goals.

• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a growingly popular option among U.S. cities and counties to include producers in the responsible management of their products. If EPR cannot be sustainably managed in Virginia, producers should pay the costs in order to achieve goals. Localities should not be forced to continue to lose money when they have restricted authority to regulate products sold or discharged into their waste streams. (For instance, set a goal of 50% plastic bottles recycled by 2028 or producers are fined. If rate goal unmet in 2030, then ban the product). Producers should reduce undue burdens placed on Virginia localities by thoughtfully designing products with local waste programs in mind, and DEQ should expedite regulations to achieve this.  

Eliminate the greenwashing of recycling.

• Contamination or "wish-cycling" of products is a polluting waste of both energy and resources. Through requirement of labeling, DEQ would empower Virginians with a meaningful understanding of what can and cannot be recycled, which in turn will help to achieve recycling rate goals. For instance, in Virginia, plastic bags cannot be recycled through curbside collection programs. This is a significant and costly problem for recycling facilities. Yet many such products misleadingly bear the recycling symbol. The marketed use of recycling numbers and symbols does not translate to more informed recycling, and should be seriously evaluated.
• As currently written, Virginia's Solid Waste Planning and Recycling Regulations do not specifically exclude practices that convert "plastic-to-fuels" from recycling definitions. Unfortunately, this enables highly polluting, unproven technologies labeled as “advanced recycling” (which are not recycling at all). In truth, “advanced recycling” is a fossil fuel industry term to describe the chemical breakdown of plastic waste through pyrolysis. This may include chemical reactions to produce oil- or gas-like feedstock (raw materials), and incineration for fuel. The U.S. EPA does not consider any plastic-to-fuel process to be “recycling.” Virginia should follow this federal guidance and strengthen its regulations to affirm that any process that produces fuels is explicitly excluded from recycling definitions and references. DEQ should recognize and acknowledge through guidance and regulations that pyrolysis is incineration.

Thank you for this opportunity to provide public comment. Virginia Conservation Network and our more than 150 Partner organizations look forward to working with DEQ to bring about meaningful and substantive reduction and diversion of wastes while protecting the Commonwealth's environmental and human health.