Regional solid waste plan update: Greene County’s reported recycling rate lags neighbors

Isabella O'Brien, a regional planner with the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, told the Greene County Board of Supervisors that the 2026 solid waste management plan update will guide the region’s recycling and waste‑diversion efforts for the next five years and is due to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality this October.

O'Brien said the regional recycling rate from 2021 to 2024 ranged from 34% to 41%, while Greene County's reported rate during that period ranged from 4% to 15%. "Between 2021 and 2024, the regional rate ranged from 34 to 41%, with Greene County's reported rate ranging from 4 to 15% during that same period," she said. The presentation stressed that the recycling rate is a compliance metric that depends on documented reporting and can undercount recycling that occurs through private haulers or metal recyclers that do not provide data to the regional planning unit.

The draft plan includes 15 Greene County‑specific implementation actions developed with county staff, and it organizes work into three focus areas: data and information sharing, planning, and waste diversion. O'Brien noted the planning unit received 257 survey responses regionwide (13 from Greene County) and that common requests from residents included expanded plastic and glass recycling, clearer information on accepted materials, and more convenient facility hours. Following local presentations, the TJPDC will hold a required public hearing in September and return recommended edits to local boards ahead of regional adoption in October.

County members asked how private hauler reporting and facility service areas affect measured rates; O'Brien said missing data and disposal at transfer facilities can skew the numbers and that improved data collection and public education are central implementation items.