Spotsylvania County Cracks down on Garbage Disposal
Changes include banning trucks from county convenience centers.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
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Spotsylvania County is dealing with too much garbage.
The Board of Supervisors has been told that commercial vehicles have been abusing the county decal program, and it is putting stress on the 13 convenience centers and the county’s 1,250-acre Livingston Landfill.
Ben Loveday, the county’s assistant administrator for community operations, told the board this week, “We’ve seen folks do everything they can to avoid the rules,” noting that a large number of those dumping at the county’s 13 convenience centers are not dumping residential garbage or yard waste.
He noted that local contractors dumping construction debris is a particular problem, even though many of them have the county decal. And in some cases, those debris piles will contain hazardous materials or items that should not be included—everything from a sledgehammer to a vehicle engine.
As a result, the rules have now been changed. Brush and yard debris that is not small enough to be placed in paper or biodegradable bags will not be allowed at the Chancellor Convenience Center. Larger debris must now be brought to the Livingston Landfill instead.
The county is also banning trucks from any of the facilities except the Livingston Landfill. That includes box trucks, cargo vans, utility vans, stake bed trucks, landscape trucks, dump trucks, and tool trucks. Commercial trailers are also only permitted at the landfill and single axle residential trailers are only permitted at the Livingston, Berkeley and Chancellor Convenience Centers.
An explanation to the public on the county website county says part of the problem at Chancellor, in particular, is the “inability effectively manage incoming volume” and its “close proximity to public areas.” There is a park and a baseball field directly adjoining the Convenience Center.
The convenience centers will still accept all household waste, including recyclable material and things like old appliances or mattresses, if you have a decal. But Loveday said that many commercial dumpers seem to have acquired decals because the current system allows every applicant to get as many as five decals—an indication that some people are abusing the privilege.
As an example, he noted there are 149,600 residents in Spotsylvania County and more than 136,000 decals have been issued, despite an indication that only about 50% of the county’s households have used the convenience centers.
Spotsylvania County is only jurisdiction in the region that operate such centers and a landfill. They cost over $5 million a year to operate.
The changes at the disposal facilities took effect this week.
Loveday says that in the past, staff at the facilities have taken all kinds of abuse for trying to impose the old rules, including threats of violence, so enforcement has been difficult.
Some other changes that may help lower the number of dumping abusers are being considered for fiscal 2026. These changes—which will need the Board of Supervisors’ approval at budget time—include lowering the number of decals per application to two instead of five and charging $50 dollars for each decal.
For information on all Spotsylvania County solid waste/recycling locations and applicable acceptance rules, go here.
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Given that the abuse of decals is predominantly construction firms and other commercial outfits, it seems unreasonable to consider charging a fee for a decal if there are other solutions to the problem. How about limiting decals, as is being considered, or installing scales and weight limits when vehicle loads exceed a certain weight? There must be jurisdictions which have grown as Spotsy has and who know how to control abuse. Can we learn from them?