Rockingham County, VA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Article III of chapter 14, sections 14-18 through 14-22, is the county's solid waste recycling reporting ordinance, first adopted in 1991 and made effective April 1, 2006. It is a reporting mandate aimed at businesses, not a household curbside recycling program: section 14-20(a) requires all solid waste generators, all companies that handle solid waste, and all companies recycling material generated within the unincorporated area to furnish the county an annual report within 30 days of the close of each calendar year. Each report must give the reporting party's name and address, the total quantity or volume and type of solid waste recycled during the period along with the name and location of the party that received it, and the total quantity or volume of waste that was the subject of source reduction or reuse.

Section 14-20(b) allows carefully estimated data where actual volume or weight cannot be determined, provided the report explains the basis for the estimate, and section 14-20(c) limits the reporting duty to waste actually generated within the unincorporated county. Section 14-21 lets a generator withhold proprietary information, but only if it identifies what was withheld and the basis for treating it as proprietary. The stated purpose of the article, set out in section 14-18, is the furtherance of solid waste management and recycling of solid waste generated in the county. Chapter 14 as a whole is enforced by the health department and the department of public works under section 14-12.