Virginia Code Title 15.2. Counties, Cities and Towns § 15.2-937. Separation of solid waste

A. Any locality may by ordinance require any person to separate solid waste for collection and recycling. Any such ordinance shall specify the type of materials to be separated. No such ordinance shall affect the right of any person to sell or otherwise dispose of waste material as provided in § 15.2-933 or permitted under any other law of the Commonwealth, nor shall any such ordinance impose any liability upon any apartment or commercial office building owner or manager for failure of tenants to comply with any provisions of the ordinance adopted pursuant to this section or upon any waste hauler for failure of its customers to comply with such ordinance. No such ordinance shall impose criminal penalties for failure to comply with its provisions; however, such ordinance may prescribe civil penalties for violations of the provisions of the ordinance.

B. Any locality may by ordinance provide for the reasonable inspection at any landfill within their jurisdiction of any tractor truck semitrailer combination with five or more axles transporting solid waste to any landfill within their jurisdiction to ensure separation of such solid waste in accordance with all applicable state laws and regulations. In enforcing such ordinance, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that solid waste transported from any jurisdiction which has comparable requirements for waste recycling is in compliance with such ordinance.

C. For purposes of this section, the term “recycling” has the meaning ascribed to it in § 10.1-1414.