If you are a business owner or business manager and you rent or lease your space, the responsibility for recycling is split between you, your property management company and your employees. If your question isn't listed, check out our Business Recycling FAQs.
- Who has to recycle?
- What is a principal recyclable material?
- What are my responsibilities?
- What are the responsibilities of my property owner or manager?
- Can I get some help?
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I am a future tenant of a new building under
construction
OR I am moving into an existing space but changing the use.
What are the recycling requirements? - What is a recycling report, and what are my responsibilities?
- What is an alternative recycling system?
- What about residential or mixed-use properties?
- What about yard waste?
All nonresidential buildings (businesses, schools, hospitals, etc.) in Fairfax County are required to recycle mixed paper and cardboard.
Nonresidential buildings or complexes that generate 100 tons of waste per year must also recycle their principal recyclable material. If county staff determines that the principal material for the facility is cardboard and/or paper, no additional recycling will be required. It is the responsibility of the owners and/or managers of commercial buildings to provide the recycling system for employees or occupants.
What is a principal recyclable material?
The principal recyclable material varies according to business type. By definition, it is the recyclable material that occurs in the highest quantity by weight in the waste stream. Usually, the principal recyclable material for an office building is mixed paper. For retail stores, warehouses or food service operations, it tends to be corrugated cardboard and/or mixed paper; for auto repair and maintenance, it may be scrap metal or used oil; and for landscapers, the principal recyclable material is usually leaves, brush and other yard waste.
Tenants or occupants are required to participate in the recycling system provided by the property owner or managing agent. Sole tenant occupants and chain operations may operate independent recycling systems when permitted by the building owner or managing agent, and approved by the county on a case-by-case basis through submittal of a revised Recycling System Plan Worksheet. Call 703-324-5230, TTY 711, or e-mail the Recycle Guy to request a copy.
What are the responsibilities of my property owner or manager?
It is the responsibility of the owner or property manager to notify tenants of mandatory recycling participation. Tenant notification must occur upon occupancy and at least once annually thereafter. It must include, at a minimum:
- The material that will be recycled,
- The program start date,
- Instructions on how to prepare the materials,
- Contaminants to avoid,
- The location of the recycling containers,
- The collection schedule, and,
- Contact information if the tenants have questions.
Yes! The county will provide free technical
assistance to engineers, architects, business owners and property
managers to facilitate implementing required recycling systems in
existing buildings or for new construction. Call 703-324-5230,
TTY 711 for more information. You can also ask the Recycle Guy
your questions using this e-mail
form.
I am a future tenant of a new building under construction OR I am moving into an existing space but changing the use. What are the recycling requirements?
In accordance with the Fairfax County Public Facilities Manual, a Recycling System Plan Worksheet is required to be submitted to the Division of Solid Waste Collection and Recycling, concurrent with the first submission of a site plan for new construction. When there is a change in ownership, use, or occupancy, the property owner or managing agent should use the worksheet to describe any changes in the required recycling system to be provided. Just call 703-324-5230, TTY 711, or ask the Recycle Guy for the worksheet. See also Recycling Program Requirements.
Low-cost building supplies may be donated or purchased at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
What is a recycling report, and what are my responsibilities?
If you are required to recycle, you are required to report! Annual reporting is required for alternative recycling systems by chain operations which transport recyclables directly to processors or end-user markets outside of Fairfax County. Ask the Recycle Guy if you're still not sure.
The reporting form for the 2008 calendar year will be due by March 1, 2009. If you have questions, please call Marion Plummer at 703-324-5451, TTY 711.
What is an alternative recycling system?
Sole tenant occupants, anchor stores, or chain operations may obtain approval for an alternative recycling system provided by their corporate entity, separate from that provided by the property management. Upon approval of an alternative recycling system the corporate entity is responsible for compliance with the county's recycling requirements. An example of an alternative recycling system is a large retailer that bales cardboard which is then hauled away by the company's own trucks.
What about residential or mixed-use properties?
If your business operates in a property with mixed residential and
business uses, the property is evaluated as if it were two separate
entities: a residential multifamily building and a nonresidential
building.
- All multifamily properties must recycle mixed paper and cardboard.
- All nonresidential buildings (businesses, schools, hospitals, etc.) in Fairfax County are required to recycle mixed paper and cardboard.
- Nonresidential buildings or complexes that generate 100 tons of waste per year must also recycle their principal recyclable material. If county staff determines that the principal material for the facility is cardboard and/or paper, no additional recycling will be required. It is the responsibility of the owners and/or managers of commercial buildings to provide the recycling system for employees or occupants.
Single-family homes, townhouses, apartments and condominiums that have been converted to small business commercial uses are treated the same as similar residential properties. If these properties receive curbside trash collection then they should receive weekly recycling collection. The following materials must be collected, at a minimum: newspaper, mixed paper, container glass, aluminum and steel food and beverage containers and yard waste.
- All yard waste (brush, leaves and grass) resulting from landscape maintenance can be mulched and reused on site, or source separated on a seasonal basis (March 1 - Dec. 24) for removal to a recycling facility.
- Yard waste may not be mixed with other waste collected for disposal.
- Townhouse clusters and condominium associations which hire a landscape contractor or use in-house personnel to maintain common areas may apply for approval of alternative methods for managing yard waste, subject to approval on a case-by-case basis and confirmed in writing from the Fairfax County Division of Solid Waste Collection and Recycling Program. Please call 703-324-5230, TTY 711 for more information. If any yard waste is not removed by the landscape contractor, it must be recycled on site by alternate means such as "grasscycling" (leaving the clippings on the lawn), mulching, or composting or collected for recycling by the refuse and recycling collection company. The property managers must ensure that no more than negligible quantities of yard waste are mixed with trash intended for disposal.
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