BoS will consider alternatives to a USD
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 26 approved a resolution to weigh alternatives before considering the establishment of a Unified Sanitation District.
A public hearing on a USD, which had been scheduled for October, has been canceled.
The USD concept calls for the county to take control of trash and recycling for single-family residences and hire trash companies to handle waste collection for a specific region. Under state law, there must be a five-year waiting period before a USD can be implemented.
Related story: Residents express concerns about a Unified Sanitation District
That proposal was met with significant opposition, particularly from small trash haulers and homeowner associations.
The USD proposal was aimed at improving waste collection services and achieving environmental goals. About 10 percent of residents – including a majority of neighborhoods in the Annandale/Mason District area – currently have county trash and recycling services.
The Board Matter, presented by Supervisor Walter Alcorn (Hunter Mill) and supported by Board Chair Jeffrey McKay and Vice Chair Kathy Smith (Sully), says “there may be options within a modified USD approach or within non-USD options that could achieve similar goals.”
Related story: BoS authorizes a hearing on a Unified Sanitary District
“It is in the best interest of all concerned, including the residents and the haulers, that we evaluate our options prior to initiating the five-year waiting period,” the motion states. Further analysis and corrections would continue during the five-year period.
The Board Matter calls for staff to “develop potential options, including pros and cons of each option and conduct a public forum among staff, licensed haulers, and HOA representatives managing hauler contracts on behalf of residents with the goal of reaching an agreement on the facts associated with the options.”
In addition, the staff would be required to develop a process for the board to consider, and ultimately implement, each option.
A public hearing will not be held on a USD “until the above tasks are completed and viable options are vetted with the board.”
Related story: Small trash haulers oppose a Unified Sanitation District
In announcing the USD proposal in late 2024, the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services said that approach would lead to lower costs for homeowners and improved customer service and would reduce the number of trash trucks on neighborhood streets.
That proposal was met with numerous complaints. Small waste collection companies feared they would go out of business. HOA representatives were concerned about how a USD would fit in with their governing documents. Homeowners were concerned about losing the flexibility to have trash collection meet their specific needs.
Thank God. This cock-a-maimy idea was socialist and anticapitalist from the start. So what if there are three companies collecting garbage in a community. That’s free commerce and it is good.
That’s a lot of words that boil down to “I don’t know what socialism is”
3 companies is a lot of noise and extra trucks needlessly on the street. I get that a single option is also not the best because some competition is good. I don’t know how many companies are currently able to big for business, but we currently are served by the county. 1 truck. 1 day. Works fine for us. I’m not sure if it’s cheaper, more expensive, or basically the same as others in the county. But it works extremely well for us in our neighborhood.
Until recently I had no idea the extent to which individual neighborhoods and developments were in charge of their own trash collection in Fairfax County. We have always had county collection (lived here for nearly 30 years) and have never once had any issues. Trash, recycling and yard waste all picked up as expected. Bulk and yard waste collected as needed.
In contrast, I feel like I have heard many stories in the past few years about problems with the private collection services, including the one company going out of business overnight leaving many residents in the lurch.
I know this is just anecdotal, but I really don’t understand the outcry about moving to a coordinated system managed by the county.
This is my experience too. County-run trash service has been nearly perfect in my 25 years at this house. But folks are afraid of change. I think change to a unified system would improve the lives of County residents.
Finally, a good decision that helps workers and citizens in stopping this inane proposal which would have eliminated workers’ jobs and privatized the whole system, with the county taking a cut. This proposal would harm the hard-working men and women of Fairfax County DPWES who would have lost their jobs or be parceled out to dead end make work positions. We need to put people above profits.
Thanks Pat H., and now the rest of the BOS, for stopping this.
Dave Lyons, Fairfax Workers Coalition
Dave,
I’ve had Ffx Co. refuse service for over 30 years. The on-truck service delivery workers are consistently considerate and reliable, providing generally excellent service. But it comes at a cost that’s higher than the private sector.
I believe USD would provide the best of all worlds – a single service provider for my area that provides county-overseen service at a price that is competitively determined. With all due respect to you and your Union members, my RE Tax checkbook can’t keep funding everybody else’s status quo. Something has to change.
If the private sector gets the business of the 5-10% of us who now have County service, why wouldn’t your on-truck folks be able to transition to those jobs? After all, they have the skill and experience, don’t they?
Surely, you don’t think Pat H. has you or your members’ best interest at heart, do you? He cares little about the FFxCo unionized worker. Instead, he believes the private sector should operate unimpeded by County bureaucracy. IMO, Pat H. would just as soon get rid of any current county service that could be handled privately – probably not an outcome you’d desire.
Bad decision…we have 5 companies operating in our neighborhood. That’s 15 heavy duty trucks on trash day (trash, recycling and lawn waste for those trying to do the math). My street has been paved 3 times in the past 6 years. Frankly, I was on private service up until last year and the county’s services are far better in reliability and promptness. What a waste (haha) to have such an inefficient system.
I believe per Virginia regs – it seems the supervisory authority of a Unified Sanitary District may collect a fee from all district residents to cover service costs. So while FFX residents may already be paying somewhat via the assessed property tax, this angle allows a separate fee line item to be charged and could (emphasize could, not will) ease the increases in assessed property taxes that are more visible and subject to resident angst… but of course it all gets added together to reach deeper into residents’ pockets.
I expect the proposal will come back after the election in which James Walkinshaw is running for Gerry Connelly’s open seat. James doesn’t want to have to defend this before the election.
Things not going well at the moment with Arlington County’s new hauler.
https://www.arlnow.com/2025/08/07/residents-complain-of-late-trash-pickups-after-arlington-hires-new-contractor/