Thomas Jefferson Solid Waste Planning Unit (TJ-SWPU)

Currently the TJPDC provides oversight and management of the Thomas Jefferson Solid Waste Planning Unit (TJ-SWPU). The TJ-SWPU is responsible for developing and maintaining a 5-year regional solid waste management plan that meets the requirements set forth in § 10.1-1411. Current members of the TJ-SWPU include the City of Charlottesville and the Counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna and Greene. As part of the solid waste planning efforts the PDC also conducts the annual Recycling Rate Reporting assessment. This annual report to the state is used to ensure that the TJ-SWPU meets the state mandated minimum recycling rate of 25% on an annual basis.

Recycling Rate Reports

Under Virginia Solid Waste Regulations localities and regions are required to maintain a minimum recycling rate of 25% (for areas with a population over 100,000).

TJPDC staff administer the annual Recycling and solid waste inventory to track the regions progress on meeting the required 25% recycling rate. These annual reports are submitted to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality who evaluates and approves the regional rate.

Solid Waste Plans

Local and regional solid waste pans are a key component of Virginia’s Solid waste management strategy. All localities in Virginia are required to have individual or be part of a regional plans. These plans describe how localities will meet their solid waste needs on a 20-year planning horizon and discuss how the localities will work to implement the solid waste hierarchy.

 Solid Waste 101 Guide
Learn more about the Solid Waste Plan and how it works.