Public Works and Environmental Services

Fairfax County, Virginia

CONTACT INFORMATION: Our administrative offices are open 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Mon – Fri

703-802-3322
TTY 711

12000 Government Center Parkway
Suite 458, Fairfax, Va 22035

County Collection Customer,
Service Center

Petition Process

Petition Process

As of December 1, 2022, petitions for new or expanded Sanitary Districts have been reinstated. Please be advised that DPWES intends to contract out collection services in new or expanded Sanitary Districts.

Community demand for collection services managed by the county continues to grow, current County staffing and equipment levels do not allow for further expansion of Sanitary Districts serviced directly by DPWES staff, beyond the residents currently served. The county is implementing a new service model of outsourcing the collection aspect of this service. The county will continue managing customer service, and on demand bulk pick up.

Creation of a small or local Solid Waste Collection Area is possible only when a petition is made by a resident, within an area of 50 homes or more, supported by greater than 50 percent valid signatures concurring with the expressed intent of the petition; and then will be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for consideration.

In cases where residents of an area wish to receive service and the homes are contiguous to an existing small or local Solid Waste Collection Area or Sanitary District, the residences may be added to the existing district by canvassing only the number of homes necessary to make the enlargement contiguous to and homogeneous with the existing small or local area.

Initiation of a Petition

The petition chairperson (either the person who requested the petition or designee) is responsible for contacting the resident/owner of each dwelling unit in the proposed area. Responses must be indicated on the petition survey provided by the Solid Waste Management Program.

Only the signature of the legal homeowner is acceptable on the petition. One signature per residence will be counted. Renters do not have the authority to sign petitions since they are not responsible for the real estate taxes on which the charge is placed, therefore, such signatures will be deemed invalid.

Approval Process

Once the signed petitions are received by the Solid Waste Management Program, signatures are verified and the petition package is prepared and compiled for submission to the County of Fairfax Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors authorizes the advertisement of a public hearing to be held in the Board Auditorium of the Government Center Building.

The public hearing date is publicized for two consecutive weeks. When the public hearing is held, all support and/or opposition should be expressed by property owners.

Once the proposed area is approved as a small or local Sanitary District by the Board of Supervisors, the residents will be notified by mail, assigned a trash collection service day, and service will begin according to the timetable.  Participating households are charged a user fee on their real estate tax assessment.

Petition Timetable

Services begin either on Jan. 1 or July 1 of any given year after approval of all petition requests. In order for the administrative preparation of the petitions to be completed, the following timetable applies.

Petitions due: June 30/January 30
Public hearing: October/May
Service(s) begin: Jan. 1/July 1

Contact Information

For more information, or to obtain petition forms, please contact:

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 458
Fairfax, Virginia 22035-0060
Phone: 703-802-3322, TTY 711
Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. M-F
Email

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