Rivanna Solid Waste Authority Board approves $11.7 million budget for FY2027

The Rivanna Solid Waste Authority was formed in 1990 to operate the Ivy Landfill, a facility that the City of Charlottesville began using in 1966. The facility stopped taking municipal solid waste in 2001, but the RSWA has continued to oversee remediation of the landfill ever since.

Over the years, the RSWA has converted the spot on Dick Woods Road to a transfer facility while also expanding into recycling services for Albemarle and Charlottesville residents.

On May 26, 2026, the RSWA’s Board of Directors approved an $11.7 million budget that provides a glimpse into how people’s trash and other discarded materials are processed.

“This budget represents an increase in operating expenses of $1.1 million (10.5 percent) largely due to increased costs for depreciation of infrastructure, household hazardous waste disposal, administrative allocations from the RWSA, as well as support for our workforce,” reads the staff report.

The budget shows how RSWA operates at a loss but its books are balanced by a payment from Albemarle County to offset expenses.

Revenues come from tipping fees paid by commercial haulers as well as members of the public to use the Ivy Solid Waste and Recycling Center. The total anticipated in FY27 is $5,996,250.

However, the total amount of expenditures is anticipated to be $11,689,400. The difference is made up from local support from Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia with Albemarle paying the bulk with $4.62 million split between several categories.

The City of Charlottesville will pay $991,014 and the University of Virginia will pay $79,982.

Some of the rates for dropping off material will increase with vegetative material increasing from $54 a ton to $58 a ton and domestic solid waste increasing from $60 a ton to $64 a ton.

No one spoke at the public hearing.

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