Where your junk actually goes in Virginia Beach

The short answer

On the Southside, junk that isn't donated or recycled goes through the Southeastern Public Service Authority, or SPSA. SPSA runs transfer stations in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk and Virginia Beach and the Regional Landfill at 1 Bob Foeller Drive in Suffolk. Metals, appliances and electronics are pulled out for recycling where facilities accept them, and usable items go to charities when they'll take them. When you book a sofa pickup at $126, disposal is part of that price.

The regional system: SPSA

SPSA serves its member localities: Chesapeake, Franklin, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Southampton. Instead of each city running its own landfill, they share one regional system.

The Regional Landfill in Suffolk is the end of the line for much of the Southside's trash. It's open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, and it takes card payments only.

Closer to home, transfer stations collect waste and consolidate it into larger loads. They include Chesapeake, Norfolk at 3136 Woodland Avenue, Suffolk, and Landstown in Virginia Beach. The Oceana station in Virginia Beach is commercial only.

Private haulers, including us, pay SPSA by the ton at the non-municipal rate. Municipal drop-offs, like the Virginia Beach Resource Recovery Center, are for residents, so hauler loads go to SPSA facilities instead.

SPSA SORT: what changed in 2026

SPSA has been building new sorting facilities under the name SPSA SORT. The first opened in Portsmouth. The program uses automated and robotic sorting with the goal of diverting half of the incoming waste away from the landfill.

From July 1, 2026, the program also changes curbside habits in some member cities. In Suffolk, for example, trash and recyclables can go in either can, because the sorting happens at SPSA.

For the average household in Kempsville or Western Branch, the practical effect is simple: follow your city's current instructions for your carts. For bulky items, the city's bulk programs and private haulers still handle what doesn't fit in a can.

For junk removal, SORT means more of what reaches SPSA has a chance at recovery. It doesn't change the rule that metals, electronics and usable furniture are best pulled out before they reach the trash stream.

What gets pulled out before the landfill

Metals and appliances. Washers, dryers, water heaters, steel bed frames and metal shelving are mostly steel. They go to scrap recycling. Refrigerated appliances need their refrigerant recovered under federal rules first.

Electronics. TVs, computers and monitors go to e-waste recycling. Virginia Beach residents can drop them free at the Resource Recovery Center; Norfolk residents use the Woodland Avenue drop-off on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Usable furniture. We try to donate usable items when local charities accept them. Charities set their own standards, and most won't take stained, damaged or upholstered pieces in poor shape.

Yard waste and brush. The Virginia Beach Resource Recovery Center accepts brush from residents, which keeps it out of the trash stream.

Concrete. The Resource Recovery Center accepts concrete from residents too.

We recycle whatever we can. What's left goes to SPSA.

Outside the Southside

The Peninsula isn't part of SPSA. Newport News runs its own Recovery Operations Center, where residents may bring up to six extra cubic yards free. Hampton and Poquoson have their own arrangements; check each city's page.

In Currituck County, North Carolina, the system is different again. There's no curbside bulk pickup in Moyock or Knotts Island. Residents use staffed convenience centers with a County Access Permit, and the County Transfer Station in Maple handles commercial loads and Freon appliances.

That's why one flat price across the 757 means planning behind the scenes. A load from Phoebus, a load from Moyock and a load from the Oceanfront each have different nearest facilities, and none of that changes the price you see.

A local landmark built on trash

Virginia Beach has one of the best-known examples of what happens to a landfill afterward. Mount Trashmore Park, opened in 1974, is the city's old landfill turned into a park. It has become one of the city's best-known landmarks, and a favorite local joke.

It's a good reminder that waste doesn't disappear. It goes somewhere, and that somewhere has to be managed for decades. The goal of recycling, donation and sorting programs like SPSA SORT is to send less to that end point.

It also explains why disposal costs money. Every ton that reaches a landfill uses space that has to be built, managed and eventually closed. When you pay a hauler, part of what you pay for is that ton being handled legally.

What your price covers

Each price includes the carry-out from any floor, loading, the drive, recycling and donation where possible, and the disposal fee. Nothing is added at the end for dump fees.

A sofa, a washer and a queen mattress from a Lynnhaven house: $126 + $133 + $103 = $362. You see that total before you book, and it changes only if you approve.

Frequently asked questions