City of Staunton

Aug. 6, 2026 – The City of Staunton officially launched its “Less to the Landfill” initiative today. It’s a community-wide campaign designed to reduce the city’s total landfill trash tonnage by 5 percent over the next year.

To kick off the effort and make waste diversion easier for residents, the city announced two significant upgrades to the Staunton Recycling Center: dramatically expanded access to food waste composting and a new co-mingled plastics recycling drop-off system.

The “Less to the Landfill” initiative addresses a pressing economic reality: throwing things away is a very expensive option for the city. By keeping heavy, recyclable and compostable materials out of the trash, the community can preserve valuable regional landfill space and reduce costs.

"Our goal is to shift our community mindset so that throwing something in the trash becomes the last option, rather than the default,” said Engagement and Communications Manager Josh Knight. “Today's updates make choosing alternatives to the trash even easier."

Effective immediately, residents visiting the Staunton Recycling Center can take advantage of the following upgraded programs:

• Expanded Composting Access: For years, local environmental advocacy group Shenandoah Green has led the charge on community composting by voluntarily staffing and funding collection bins at the Recycling Center for limited hours each week. To build on their foundational success, the city is partnering with Black Bear Composting and Shenandoah Green to launch a pilot program that makes food waste drop-off available anytime the Recycling Center is open. There are now four dedicated compost bins available for public use on-site.
  
  
• Co-Mingled Plastics Recycling: In a major win for resident convenience, the city is taking advantage of a current shift in the regional recycling market. A local processor is now accepting our #1, #2, and #5 plastics mixed together in a single bin. Residents no longer need to separate these plastics by number, and bottle caps can now be left on as long as the containers are empty and clean. Because recyclables are global commodities, municipalities are tied to exactly what vendors will and won't accept. Having a centralized, staffed drop-off location allows Public Works to quickly adapt to these market fluctuations, update residents on changing rules, and ensure our materials remain clean enough to actually be recycled.

By combining municipal resources with existing community passion, the city hopes to drastically increase the amount of organic material and reusable plastic diverted from the landfill.

“This is the first step in enacting the vision Council articulated earlier this year in the Staunton Plan to ‘develop a plan to decrease landfill waste,’” said Council Member Jeff Overholtzer. “It’s a step that yields financial as well as environmental benefits. By reducing landfill waste, we save money on landfill costs and reduce greenhouse gases that damage public health and the environment. We need everyone's help in order to achieve our goal of a 5 percent reduction this year.”

For a complete breakdown of accepted plastics, composting guidelines, and more information on the city's waste diversion efforts, visit www.staunton.va.us/lesstrash.