In 1989, the Virginia General Assembly adopted legislation that established a 25 percent recycling rate target for communities, which was modified in 2006 as the General Assembly established a two-tiered recycling mandate of 15 percent and 25 percent (effective July 1, 2006). 

Legislative action in 2012 eliminated the annual reporting requirement for Solid Waste Planning Units (SWPUs) with populations of 100,000 or less after 2012. Instead, those SWPUs are required to report every four years, beginning with 2016. All SWPUs with populations over 100,000 are required to report annually.

Virginia's calculated recycling rate for 2023 was 42.5 percent. This calculated rate was derived from recycling rate data submitted by 19 Virginia SWPUs to DEQ as required by regulation (9VAC-20-130-120 B&C).