To minimize waste production by county government and schools (FCPS) to Zero Waste by 2030, the Board of Supervisors and School Board’s Joint Environmental Task Force recommended that staff develop a Zero Waste Plan to set direction and recommendations.

Everyone who visits a government building, school or park plays an important role in helping reach Zero Waste! 

At Fairfax County government and school facilities, our goals are to:

How Can We Achieve Zero Waste?

Achieving zero waste is no small task. It requires the participation of every employee, student and user of government and school facilities, as well as County and FCPS leadership and business partners. We can achieve Zero Waste by creating less of it in the first place.

The 4 R's

Practice the 4-R’s: Reach out; Reduce; Reuse and Recycle.

There are many actions we can take to reuse, repair, repurpose and extend the lives of products and packages. It’s also important to reduce waste through recycling and composting.

The 24 Strategies

Fairfax County identified 24 optimal strategies that Zero Waste leaders, decision-makers, and champions across the County will undertake to achieve our goals. These strategies have the highest potential for waste prevention and diversion in Fairfax County and FCPS facilities.

You can also see the: 

• Zero Waste Plan for information on how these strategies were developed.
• Champions Toolkit for information on how Zero Waste Champions and others can take action.

Learn more about the strategies and who’s involved. The 24 Zero Waste strategies are organized into four key themes.
Click each theme below to see the associated strategies.