Virginia Code 10.1-1425.20: Findings and intent
A. The General Assembly finds that:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 10.1-1425.20
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Solid waste: means any garbage, refuse, sludge, and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material, resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, or community activities, but does not include (i) solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage; (ii) solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows or in industrial discharges that are sources subject to a permit from the State Water Control Board; (iii) source, special nuclear, or by-product material as defined by the Federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; or (iv) post-use polymers or recovered feedstocks that are (a) processed at an advanced recycling facility or (b) held at or held for the purpose of conversion at such advanced recycling facility prior to conversion. See Virginia Code 10.1-1400
- Waste: means any solid, hazardous, or radioactive waste as defined in this section. See Virginia Code 10.1-1400
1. The management of solid waste can pose a wide range of hazards to public health and safety and to the environment;
2. Packaging comprises a significant percentage of the overall waste stream;
3. The presence of heavy metals in packaging is a concern because of the potential presence of heavy metals in residue from manufacturers’ recycling processes, in emissions or ash when packaging is incinerated, or in leachate when packaging is landfilled; and
4. Lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium, on the basis of scientific and medical evidence, are of particular concern.
B. It is the intent of the General Assembly to:
1. Reduce the toxicity of packaging;
2. Eliminate the addition of heavy metals to packaging; and
3. Achieve reductions in toxicity without impeding or discouraging the expanded use of recovered material in the production of products, packaging, and its components.
1994, c. 944.