Virginia legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Virginia SB226: An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-937.1 and by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 9 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-141.2:1, relating to compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure; civil penalty.
Status: Chaptered, May 14, 2026
Local competitive bidding for compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure; civil penalty. Allows the governing body of a locality to give preference to compost or other products containing organic soil amendments produced within such locality in the case of a tie bid when determining the award of any contract for compost or other products containing soil amendments to be purchased for use by such locality. The bill also provides that any locality may by ordinance require that certain generators, as defined in the bill, of large quantities of organic waste separate the organic waste from other solid waste and ensure that the organic waste is diverted from final disposal in a refuse disposal system by any of a variety of specified waste diversion activities. The ordinance may also establish civil penalties for violations of the ordinance, but a locality shall first issue a warning to a generator that violates the ordinance. Finally, the bill expresses that it is the intent of the General Assembly that new public school buildings and facilities and improvements and renovations to existing public school buildings and facilities include waste disposal infrastructure, as defined in the bill, that includes a place for the disposal of trash, recyclables, and food scraps and a sink for liquid waste. This bill is identical to HB 1011.
What the bill says
An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-937.1 and by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 9 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-141.2:1, relating to compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure; civil penalty. [S 226] Approved May 14, 2026 1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 15.2-937.1 and by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 9 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-141.2:1 as civil penalty. A. For purposes of this a business, school, or institutional cafeteria; and a cafeteria operated by o.
From the enrolled text, May 14, 2026:
An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-937.1 and by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 9 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-141.2:1, relating to compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure; civil penalty. [S 226] Approved May 14, 2026 1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 15.2-937.1 and by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 9 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-141.2:1 as civil penalty. A. For purposes of this a business, school, or institutional cafeteria; and a cafeteria operated by or on behalf of the Commonwealth or a locality. "Organic waste" means material derived from the processing or discarding of food, including pre-consumer and post-consumer vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy products, and meats. B. Any locality may, by ordinance, require that certain generators separate organic waste from other solid waste and ensure that such organic waste is diverted from final disposal in a refuse disposal system. The ordinance may require that generators divert organic waste from final disposal in a refuse disposal system by (i) reducing the amount of food residuals generated; (ii) donating servable food; (iii) managing the organic waste in an on-site organics recycling system; (iv) providing for the collection and transportation of organic waste for agricultural use, including …