VA SB226

Authorizes Virginia localities to require large generators of organic waste (schools, supermarkets, cafeterias) to separate organic waste from other solid waste and divert it from landfills through composting, donation, or other recycling methods

Businesses generating at least one ton of organic waste weekly must compost at a permitted facility if one exists within 30 miles

Establishes civil penalties for violations: warning for first offense, then $250 for second, $500 for third, and $1,000 for fourth or subsequent violations, with each day counting as a separate violation

Expresses legislative intent that new public school buildings and renovations include waste disposal infrastructure with separate stations for trash, recyclables, organic waste, and liquid waste

Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to study options for expanding state composting capacity, addressing school composting challenges, incentivizing residential curbside composting, and examining PFAS contamination impacts in compost, with findings due by the 2027 legislative session