SJ361: Waste minimization, reuse, and recycling; Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study.

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 361
Offered January 10, 2007
Prefiled January 9, 2007
Directing the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study waste minimization, reuse, and recycling. Report.
Patron-- Ticer

Referred to Committee on Rules

WHEREAS, solid waste may be managed through one of three channels: minimization, recycling, or disposal by incineration and landfilling; and

WHEREAS, waste minimization and reuse through recycling and reclamation are highly preferred alternatives to disposal and, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, produce a wide range of benefits for the private sector, such as the reduction of the quantity and toxicity of hazardous and solid waste generation; raw material and product losses; raw material purchase costs; waste management recordkeeping and paperwork burden; waste management costs; workplace accidents and worker exposure; compliance violations; and environmental liability; and

WHEREAS, permitted solid waste management facilities in the Commonwealth received a total of 24,492,185 tons of solid waste during 2005 and, based on current waste generation and disposal rates, the Commonwealth will exhaust existing landfill capacity before 2023 according to the Department of Environmental Quality; and

WHEREAS, only 6.1 percent of the waste delivered to permitted landfill facilities is subsequently diverted from disposal by recycling or mulching; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth has mandated that each locality create or participate in a recycling program and administers a total of approximately $1.5 million from the statewide Litter Control and Recycling Fund for such purposes; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth has not adopted a long-term plan to reduce waste that incorporates minimization alternatives; and

WHEREAS, current waste reduction programs at the state and local levels face funding shortfalls and are unable to fully execute their missions; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission be directed to study waste minimization, reuse, and recycling.

In conducting its study, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall review the success of programs currently employed in Virginia and similarly situated states. The Commission shall further recommend long-term goals for waste minimization and determine the necessary legal and economic prerequisites to achieve those goals.

Technical assistance shall be provided to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission by the Department of Environmental Quality. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission for this study, upon request.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2007, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2008 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.