May 19, 2025

The Board of Supervisors is holding a Public Hearing on June 24^th regarding the establishment of Unified Sanitation Districts for Fairfax County. I voted against moving forward to public hearing because there are many unanswered questions and no published plan. I have two major sets of concerns with the establishment of Unified Sanitation Districts. The first set of concerns deals with the decision to start the five-year waiting period and the impact of going to countywide districts – reduced competition, elimination of choices, the potential for reduced services after approval, impact on HOAs, etc. The second, and more impactful, is what Unified Sanitation Districts would allow the Board to do to our residents – mandatory recycling and composting, establishment of enforcement mechanisms (“trash police”) and a new Zero Waste Fee (“trash tax”). See below for additional potential impacts.

As a result of the constituent feedback I’ve received on this issue, I will be hosting a Town Hall on Unified Sanitation Districts with Department of Public Works Director Chris Herrington and staff on June 3^rd at 6:30 p.m. After a brief presentation and comments you will have a chance to share comments and ask questions about the proposal. In addition, as I referenced above, there will be a Board of Supervisors public hearing on the proposal to begin the process to establish Unified Sanitation Districts on June 24^th at 4:00 p.m. For more information about the town hall, see below. 

Staff presentation on the 20-year solid waste management plan, Environmental Committee December 10, 2024, Slide 4.

Unified Sanitation Districts. If implemented, the county would manage waste hauling contracts and private haulers would be selected via a county bidding process to serve specific areas. The initial proposal was for four areas or sections of the county that would be bid on by competing haulers. County staff have indicated that the exact number of districts is yet to be determined. The reported reasons for considering Unified Sanitation Districts are poor service and unaffordable contracts under private contractors. While these were certainly widespread concerns in 2022, they are no longer as prevalent. The argument for Unified Sanitation Districts falls apart when you look at the County’s performance in its own existing sanitation districts, which faced the same staffing and service challenges as the private sector haulers, and when you consider the fact that the private sector would still be doing the trash and recycling collection under the new model. Under the proposed model, the County would negotiate the service contract and all residents would pay the County for trash service provided by the selected vendors. Individual residents would no longer have the option to select their own providers individually, nor through their HOA, and residents currently without service would still have to pay, regardless of their intent to utilize it. The unified sanitation district model does have potential benefits, including the reduction of the number of trash trucks driving through neighborhoods that are serving individual residents. Unfortunately, the County is unable to determine what percentage of households are not currently served by HOA negotiated contracts so there is no way to determine how much of a benefit this will be.

Currently, the only residents who would be affected by Unified Sanitation Districts would be those living in single family attached and detached homes and town homes. If the Board of Supervisors does approve the proposal, it would initiate a five-year consideration period where County staff would analyze the feasibility of implementation, work with private haulers on the details and logistics of the districts, and what elements of the Zero Waste Plan and Community-Wide Energy and Climate Action Plan they would implement within the districts. This would precede a final decision on the implementation of Unified Sanitation Districts. 

Issues With Unified Sanitation Districts. I have several concerns about the potential unified sanitation district proposal, including:

• The potential to push out small, local businesses by awarding the collection contracts to only a few large companies if they proceed with four districts as initially discussed. This would limit competition and drive-up costs as well as drive small companies, many with great service, out of business. 
• The impact on service in the five-year waiting period as companies reduce their investment in the County in the event they do not win one or more of the contracts. This goes for material recycling facilities (that sort and process the recycling materials) as well as trash trucks and other investments needed to run the business.
• The cost, traffic and carbon footprint impact of using the large companies that keep most of their trucks out of Fairfax County.  
• Residents that currently take their trash directly to the landfill to save money would lose that option and have to pay for collection.
• Residents who already have negotiated and established service contracts through their HOAs, which may be the majority of Fairfax County residents subject to the districts, would lose that option.
• The potential for increased cost of service with diminished competition and the elimination of customized services for a one size service and bill fits all approach.
• The County would need at least 24 new positions to oversee the effort.
• A one size fits all approach versus the ability to get additional services such as front-door, back-door or hump-out services from private haulers that offer them.

Issues With What the Sanitation Districts Will Likely Lead To.

• The potential imposition of a new Zero Waste Fee (“Trash Tax”) on all residents to fund the necessary staff and facilities. (PowerPoint Presentation)
• Mandatory recycling and composting and the potential for “Trash Police” to ensure compliance with recycling and composting requirements.
• Perhaps the biggest concern is the County using this as a vehicle to implement a “Pay as you Throw” plan which would charge residents based on the size of their trash can. Some of my colleagues on the Board, including Supervisor Smith, Alcorn, and Bierman, expressed concerns with this approach. Some of the impacts to this program are:
• It disproportionally impacts large households or families with many children as they generate more trash.
• The potential to increase the contamination of recycling materials if residents have more trash than room in the size bin they choose.
• There is no good enforcement mechanism without significant cost to the County.
• As has happened in other localities that adopted it – it encourages illegal dumping if residents have more trash than fits in the can they purchase.

Staff presentation on the 20-year solid waste management plan, Environmental Committee December 10, 2024, slide 7.

Other Options. I believe there are better ways to reduce the number and frequency of trash trucks in neighborhoods (and therefore the carbon footprint and cost) including the current democratic process of allowing residents to form a smaller sanitary collection district. Delaying the date required to begin yard waste collection would have minimal impact on collection but reduce the number of trash trucks and overall carbon footprint.. Extending the hours at the landfill will also lead to a reduced carbon footprint to give haulers longer to fill their trucks and provide an increased benefit to residents. Private collection companies could be encouraged to add some of the Zero Waste strategies if there were a market for them.

Recycling. I am a believer in the need to recycle and was the Board member that discovered that the glass in recycling containers was not being recycled but instead sent to landfills while at the same time contaminating other recyclables and impacting the processing equipment. That lead to the establishment of the “purple can club” and we have glass recycling dumpsters placed at various locations countywide. Staff has done a great job of creating a market for this separately collected glass, so much of it no longer goes to the dump or incinerator. The County also currently offers the ability to recycle so many things including food scraps, clothing, paint, etc.

While many share concerns regarding garbage sitting in landfills, it is important to note that in Fairfax County all of our trash is burned and converted to energy. Only 3% of the volume remains and is put in the Lorton landfill.

Town Hall Details. I hope you will join me on June 3^rd at 6:30 pm on Facebook Live and Channel 16. There will be an initial presentation followed by an opportunity for the community to ask questions or make comments about the proposal. To ask questions you can call in during the live broadcast at 703-324-1114 or you can email questions in advance to springfieldbos@fairfaxcounty.gov.

More information regarding the June 24^th Public Hearing can be found here: Board of Supervisors Meeting: June 24, 2025 | Board Of Supervisors. You can see staff’s presentations to the Board on this matter at the links below:

Update 1: PowerPoint Presentation

Update 2: PowerPoint Presentation

Update 3: PowerPoint Presentation

Update 4: PowerPoint Presentation

The recorded meetings are also online for you to view comments by staff and Supervisors.

• Mark Your Calendar for the Free Concerts in the Park Series
• Trail Closures for Sewer Rehabilitation Pohick Phase I Project
• George Mason University Job Fair (May 19)
• Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (May 27)
• High School Graduations Begin at Eagle Bank Arena (May 27)
• Small Business Forum (May 29)
• Route 29 Closure (May 30)
• Unified Sanitation Districts Virtual Town Hall (June 3)

Mark Your Calendar for the Free Concerts in the Park Series

I am excited to announce that the summer concert series will be taking place again this summer from June 25th through August 20th. These concerts are free to attend and do not require any registration or sign up. As in years past, we look forward to having 2 Silos beer, food trucks, and Peterson’s Ice Cream. Stay tuned for updates.

June 25th

The Road Ducks

July 2nd

The Randy Thompson Band

July 9th

Gotcha Covered Band

July 16th

The Magic Trio

July 23rd

The Rock Shakerz

July 30th

The Skip Castro Band

August 6th

The English Channel

August 13th

The Nighthawks

August 20th

Riptide

Trail Closures for Sewer Rehabilitation Pohick Phase I Project

The initial 3-month closure of the cross-county trail for the extent of the project area started on March 17, 2025. This closure is for a short section of the trail at the north end of the project west of Lake Pleasant Drive. Once the work at this northern end of the project area is complete, the Cross-county trail will be reopened utilizing a detour along Pohick Road. This detour will be in effect for a 12–15-month duration while the remaining rehabilitation is completed on this segment of the project. Trail closure and projects signs have been posted in the Pohick Stream Valley Park;see the map below for reference. For alternate park locations and trails to explore during this temporary closure, residents are encouraged to use the Park Authority’s Park Amenity Locator and Trail Buddy tools.

As part of this work, the sanitary sewer flow will need to be by-passed for the rehabilitation to take place under dry pipe conditions. A series of by-pass pumps, and piping will be installed above ground reroute the sewer flow to a discharge manhole located in the vicinity of Wadebrook Terrace. See the photos below for an example of this setup.

George Mason University Job Fair (May 19)

George Mason University’s Career Services will be hosting the 2025 Just In Time Job Fair on Monday, May 19 for current George Mason students and alumni. Employers will have access to well-qualified applicants. George Mason students and alumni are equipped with the latest industry knowledge and in-demand technical and transferable skills. Employers are required to register for the event. Learn more HERE. 

Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (May 27)

If you were to find yourself in an active shooter or violent attack incident, are you confident that you would know how to survive the situation? For many of you, the answer is likely no. Knowing how to avoid, deny, and defend can save your life.

To learn how to avoid, deny, and defend, we invite you to join us on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, from 6:30PM-8:00PM at the West Springfield District Station community room (6140 Rolling Road, Springfield, VA). Participants will also learn about attackers, disaster responses, and how to prepare for and respond to being trapped in a building during a violent event.

This training is open to anyone in the community, but some of the material may be disturbing. You do not need to register for this presentation.

High School Graduations Begin at Eagle Bank Arena (May 27)

Beginning on Tuesday, May 27th and continuing through June 16th, high school graduation ceremonies will be taking place at Eagle Bank Arena on GMU’s Fairfax campus. There will be increased traffic, so please plan accordingly and share this with anyone who may be affected.

Small Business Forum (May 29)

Fairfax County’s Small Business Commission will be hosting a Small Business Forum on May 29^th, at 8:00 AM. This forum provides the opportunity to learn from business experts and connect with county procurement representatives. Registration is free and available up through the day of the event. For more information see Here.

Route 29 Closure (May 30)

Weather permitting, northbound and southbound Route 29 will be closed to through traffic between Clifton Road/Stringfellow Road (Route 645) and Fairfax County Parkway (Route 286) for four weekends to install a culvert as part of the Route 29 widening project, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The Route 29 closures are scheduled to occur as follows (there will not be closures the weekend of May 23-26 due to the Memorial Day holiday):

• 10 p.m. Friday, May 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5
• 10 p.m. Friday, May 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 12
• 10 p.m. Friday, May 16 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 19
• 10 p.m. Friday, May 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, June 2

Those needing to reach properties within the closed section of Route 29 during the four weekends will have access; however, they will not be able to go beyond the work site in either direction. The new culvert, located adjacent to the property at 13100 Route 29 just west of the Hampton Forest Way/Meadow Estates Drive intersection, is being installed to carry Willow Springs Branch under Route 29.

Through traffic will be detoured via Clifton Road, Braddock Road (Route 620) and Fairfax County Parkway back to Route 29. Drivers are asked to follow posted detour signs.

The Route 29 widening project is making improvements along Route 29 between Union Mill Road and Buckleys Gate Drive to improve safety, traffic flow and bicyclist and pedestrian accessibility and connectivity. The improvements include:

• Reconstructing and widening 1.5 miles of roadway from four lanes to six
• Correcting vertical alignment to improve sight distance
• Adding shared-use paths on both sides of Route 29
• Providing connectivity to pedestrian/bicycle trails at the Fairfax County Parkway/West Ox Road interchange

The project is scheduled for completion in spring 2026.

You can get traffic, work zone and incident information online at 511.vdot.virginia.gov, via the free mobile 511Virginia app, or by calling 511 in Virginia anywhere anytime.

Unified Sanitation Districts Virtual Town Hall (June 3)

On June 3^rd, at 6:30 PM, I will be hosting a Unified Sanitation Districts Virtual Town Hall with the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. I hope you will join me on June 3^rd at 6:30 pm on Facebook Live and Channel 16. There will be an initial presentation followed by an opportunity for the community to ask questions or make comments about the proposal. To ask questions you can call in during the live broadcast at 703-324-1114 or you can email questions in advance to springfieldbos@fairfaxcounty.gov.

More information regarding the June 24^th Public Hearing can be found here: Board of Supervisors Meeting: June 24, 2025 | Board Of Supervisors. You can see staff’s presentations to the Board on this matter at the links below:

Update 1: PowerPoint Presentation

Update 2: PowerPoint Presentation

Update 3: PowerPoint Presentation

Update 4: PowerPoint Presentation

The recorded meetings are also online for you to view comments by staff and Supervisors.