Nearly 50 years have passed since the United States adopted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act which set up rules for how solid waste is managed across the county.
“RCRA states that ‘solid waste’ means any garbage or refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities,” reads the website of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality requires localities to produce a plan that describes the logistics for how discarded and unwanted materials are to be treated and managed. Many band together to create this solid waste management plan which is intended to guarantee there is enough capacity to handle trash disposal over a 20-year period…