This Wednesday is a “Red Wednesday”, which means trash and recycling pickup. Ideally, rolling recycling containers are stored and deployed in the back alleys along with trash cans. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night.

If you have not done so already, don’t forget to sign up for your Recycling Perks.
In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

In recycling news, a lot of Virginia recyclers are still figuring out what current Chinese import policies mean for them.

Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality has advised that local governments keep up with information coming from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Local operations such as TFC Recycling and Butler Paper Recycling have previously reported a significant reduction in market value, and an ongoing issue with “wishful recycling,” as reported by The Virginian-Pilot. TFC recently told the Richmond Free Press that it’s having trouble meeting new quality standards because 15-20% of the residential material it receives is contaminated. Though the company is still finding markets for fiber in Vietnam, South Korea, India and domestically.

Recently, van der Linde Recycling announced plans to close its mixed waste processing operation in the Zion Crossroads area, due in part to low commodity prices. The MRF has been taken over by County Waste and will essentially be used as a transfer station to send material to another facility in Chester, as reported by The Daily Progress. This has had ripple effects in Albemarle County and as far away as Harrisonburg, where the city was temporarily landfilling material.