The Regional Solid Waste Management Plan for Southeastern Virginia (RSWMP) provides an overview and analysis of solid waste management in the Cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach, the Counties of Isle of Wight and Southampton, and the Towns of Boykins, Branchville, Capron, Courtland, Ivor, Newsoms, Smithfield and Windsor.

A significant change in regional waste management will occur due to the pending closure of the WIN Waste (formerly known as Wheelabrator Portsmouth) facility at the end of June 2024.  The WIN Waste facility currently burns the majority of the municipal solid waste generated in the region, producing electricity that is sold back to the grid and steam that is used to heat facilities at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Infrastructure changes on the part of the U.S. Navy will result in substitution of a new heat source for the steam from WIN Waste. That change has resulted in a decision by WIN Waste to close their facility. The loss of the WIN Waste facility will result in the need to increase the volume of waste disposed of at the SPSA Regional Landfill.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requires that public hearings be held for major amendments to the RSWMP. The 2020-2025 RSWMP includes two major amendments that are triggered by the closure of WIN Waste;

1. Movement down the waste disposal hierarchy from incineration to disposal: The shift from burning much of the regional solid waste for energy to landfilling that waste is considered by DEQ to be a major plan amendment.
2. Expansion of the landfill capacity at the SPSA Regional Landfill in Suffolk:  Accommodating the diversion of waste from WIN Waste to the SPSA Regional Landfill in Suffolk will require an expansion of the capacity of the facility. This expansion is considered by DEQ to be a major plan amendment.

The track changes version of the 2020-2025 RSWMP linked below includes all the modifications associated with the major amendments and multiple additional edits to reflect changing demographics and statistics on regional waste management. The companion document is a bulleted synopsis of all the plan edits.

2020-2025 RSWMP for Southeastern Virginia -Major Amendment

Proposed Changes to RSWMP

The HRPDC and SPSA are hosting public hearings associated with major amendment 1 to be held in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Franklin, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Southampton. A public hearing in Suffolk will include both amendments 1 and 2.

Public comment opportunities include participation in the public hearings and/or completion of the Constant Contact online survey (link opens a Constant Contact survey).

As of June 5, 2023, the date, time and locations for the first three meetings have been established. Meetings in the other localities will be announced at a later date.