Chesapeake council hears SPSA plan to divert 50% of waste, asked to extend regional agreement

Chesapeake City Council was briefed Oct. 21 on a regional plan to cut landfill volumes by half and extend the city’s disposal agreement with the Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA). Dennis, executive director of SPSA, and board representatives outlined a proposed contract with Commonwealth SORTATION LLC to operate mixed-waste sorting facilities and described related changes to SPSA’s “use and support” agreements that would lengthen Chesapeake’s commitment if the contract is approved.

SPSA said the Commonwealth SORTATION contract would guarantee a 50% diversion rate from the regional landfill—contractually split as 20% recyclables and 30% organics that would be processed by pyrolysis into biochar. "Future disposal capacity is extremely important to the region," Dennis said, stressing that maintaining local disposal options helps preserve negotiating leverage on disposal rates.

The briefing framed the proposal as a response to declining landfill options regionally. SPSA reported that permitting for landfill cells expanded permitted airspace through about 2060 under current volumes; SPSA said that, without new disposal options or reduced landfill input, the region would face sharply higher disposal costs and the need to haul waste to private landfills outside the region. SPSA cited a third-party environmental impact statement that estimated the per‑ton cost of…