About 4,600 businesses in Arlington County are newly subject to stringent recycling requirements this year. Last November, the County Board approved changes to the county鈥檚 garbage and refuse ordinances, along with a resolution supporting a 鈥渮ero waste鈥� goal of increasing its recycling rate.
Putting the changes and goals into action, on Jan. 1 the county began requiring that businesses, in addition to property owners, create and implement recycling plans. Like commercial and multifamily properties 鈥� those who manage office buildings and apartments 鈥� local businesses are also now subject to an annual inspection by an 鈥淎rlington County Recycling Outreach Specialist鈥� and a $66 fee to pay for that inspection.
Including the property owners that were previously subject to the requirements, some 6,000 businesses total in Arlington are now required to:
- Register and submit a trash and recycling plan.
- Establish a recycling program to collect and dispose of recyclable items separately from trash.
- Place a recycling container next to every trash container.
- Clearly label recycling containers.
- Provide educational materials to employees (or tenants), telling them about the recycling program.
- The requirements are far from onerous for large companies, but for some smaller companies, where every minute and every dollar counts, it鈥檚 producing some confusion and consternation.
The owner of a five-employee non-profit organization told ARLnow.com that she had to go back and forth with the county before getting a letter that finally explained the requirements and the fact that her organization was, in fact, subject to the new rules.
鈥淥ver the last month, I鈥檝e spent a ton of my time dealing with the new recycling rules 鈥� mostly because Arlington County has been terrible at planning for and implementing their rules changes,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a very frustrating thing during [a time that is] normally busy anyway, and I鈥檓 sure [it is] for others too.鈥�
The $66 fee, we鈥檙e told, can only be paid by check or by paying via credit card in person at county government headquarters 鈥� not online. An online payment system is in the works, the business owner was told.
Phil Bresee, manager of Arlington鈥檚 Environmental Management Office, said the inspections are new but the recycling requirement is not. 鈥淎ll businesses have been required to recycle since 1994 鈥� just not all have been subject to the fee and inspections,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭he changes to the Code apply the requirements to all businesses in the County.鈥�
鈥淯ntil this year, the code focused on and placed the responsibility for ensuring compliance on property managers and owners,鈥� Bresee continued. 鈥淲hile most properties had recycling systems in place, we found that a large percentage of individual businesses or commercial tenants were not participating in those systems. Addressing that disconnect was the key driver for the Code changes.鈥�
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