Fairfax County phasing out plastic bags for yard waste
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| Plastic bags like these will be banned for yard waste. |
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors took action Feb. 25 to begin phasing out the use of plastic bags for yard waste.
The plastic bag ban will apply to residents whose yard waste is collected by private companies, as well as the county.
This change was made to reduce the amount of plastic in the environment.
“When yard waste – brush, leaves, and grass – is processed into compost, small pieces of shredded plastic end up in the organic material applied in gardens, yards, and capital improvement projects,” the county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services states. “Even the best screening systems don’t remove all the plastic shreds.”
Instead of plastic bags, residents are encouraged to use compostable paper bags or a rigid container clearly marked “yard waste.” Other options include composting and mulching at home and leaving mowed grass clippings on the lawn.
Seven other jurisdictions in the D.C. area already ban plastic bags for yard waste, and a survey conducted last summer found 30 percent of Fairfax County residents are already doing this.
Accepted yard waste includes grass clippings, leaves, straw, brush, branches, and flowers. Unaccepted material includes tree stumps, food waste, lumber, treated wood, pallets, sawdust, dirt, mulch, and sod.
The policy change on yard waste is being implemented as an administrative action allowed under the County Code. A formal code change – and enforcement – will be considered by the Board of Supervisors at a later date.
The Solid Waste Management Program says the 2020 yard waste season (March through December) will be a transition period for residents and businesses to adjust to the change. During this period, yard waste in plastic bags will still be collected.
Residents are prohibited from burning yard waste, mixing it in with household trash, or dumping it in parks or stream valleys. Invasive, noxious, or diseased plants, however, should be placed in black plastic bags and disposed of with household trash. Learn more here.
13 responses to “Fairfax County phasing out plastic bags for yard waste”
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Well FFX better make an alternative bagging system available for residents or they will just throw the grass clippings in the street and that is bad for storm water management. Typical FFX, great idea but poor implantation. What a stupid county.
"Instead of plastic bags, residents are encouraged to use compostable paper bags or a rigid container clearly marked “yard waste.” Other options include composting and mulching at home and leaving mowed grass clippings on the lawn."
Using the paper bags is literally easier than plastic bags because they stand up on their own as you're filling them, but yes, by all means, complain away.
Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, ACE & Target all sell paper yard waste bags for like .30 cents a piece that are easier to use then plastic bags.
You can paint or draw Yard waste" on the side of ANY trashcan. If you don't have a extra trashcan Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, ACE & Target sell them for like $5.
The Q&A on the FFx County website is very extensive and has 32 specific Q&A's about yard waste containers. It also has a email address and phone number you use if you need even more info on yard waste containers.
Maybe take literally 20 seconds to read and think before you instinctively switch to "Duuuurh, Every one is dumb!" commenting mode.
They don’t make a “primary bagging system” available so I don’t see why Fairfax would be required to provide you paper bags…
This was an easy change for us. I took an old rubbermaid garbage can, wrote "yard waste" in big letters on a piece of paper, taped over the entire paper and then onto the garbage can. The garbage can I used is a round and stackable, I actually have 2 so they only take up the space of 1 in storage. Easier than going out and getting the large paper bags from Home Depot plus it saves me from having to buy extra plastic garbage bags on leaf days.
I would need at least 10 dedicated garbage cans for leaves as I pick up nearly 150 bags on my 15000 sq ft lot every year. Most of the bags in my back yard get composted, but it takes more than a year for the compost to process. I have been doing this for more than 33 years, so I know what I am talking about. The neighbors who blow big piles of leaves into the street create traffic hazards, which I reuse to do. Where do you suggest I store at least 10 large garbage cans dedicated for leaves? Neighbors who have professional leaf pickup typically spend at least $800 per year for this service. I am retired. Will the county provide me with $800? The Faierfax Vounty government is run by idiots!
PAPER. BAGS.
You must have missed the part about the using paper bags? They sell them at Lowes & Home depot, 30 gal. capacity. Grab a bunch of them and a 'leaf chute' and you're on your way. You have to pay for the plastic bags so you're buying something different instead of plastic. It's really not too hard.
150 bags for 15k sq ft, yeah sure.
I like paperbags but I will say that I have had issues when we get lots of rain and the bags holding up. One year they would not pick them up and it became a mess and we had to put them in the trash for a period of several trash cycles. That would be my only concern. I prefer the neighborhoods that have leaf collection, it is a much better system but my guess is the county cannot do that everywhere.
Paper bags will fall apart. Have you seen our disgusting gutter curbs with weeds growing out of the cracks. This is real bad for storm water management. The new comers have enough trouble cutting the grass regularly. They will just dispose of the clippings in the street. I hope this county will send out a flyer. For the McLean residents not a prob, for Mason with our halves and have nots, it will be a disaster.
Yesterday in Arlington I saw a sweeper vehicle cleaning a bike/pedestrian path. FFX does not even have one for the roads. And you can forget about VDOT doing such a thing. Idiotic FFX leadership, I'd like to put them in a paper bag and leave them on the curb.
Is there a reason why the County has. Not collected bagged clippings for the past two weeks??
I have had some issue with yard waste (clippings, brush, etc.) not being picked up when they were set out at the curb in rigid container. Can you publish the requirements to getting this picked up? If we are doing something wrong, leaving the yard waste sitting at the curb with no communication does not really help us understand if we did something wrong or if the waste was just not picked up.