Sanitary District Program What is a Sanitary District? A sanitary district is a special tax zone that allows the county to manage certain utilities for the zone. The Loudoun County Sanitary District Program is only focused on waste management services, where the county would manage garbage removal and disposal service contracts directly with garbage removal and disposal providers, eliminating the need for residents to contract individually with providers. Loudoun County is currently analyzing results of a survey that ended October 24, 2025, that asked property owners in the county whether they were interested in the county establishing sanitary districts. About
- The establishment of sanitary districts in Loudoun County seeks to provide high quality, consistent garbage removal and disposal services as well as consistent fees for property owners across all service districts.
- The county would manage garbage removal and disposal service contracts directly with collectors.
- Sanitary districts are funded through annual tax collection from the property owners receiving garbage removal and disposal services.
- The creation of sanitary districts will be resident-driven through a petition, requiring support of at least 55% of the property owners in the proposed district. - Renters are not eligible to sign petitions as they are not responsible for the real estate taxes on which the collection service is placed.
Benefits The establishment of sanitary districts would potentially help:
- Reduce number and frequency of garbage trucks driving down residential streets
- Minimize traffic disruptions and noise in neighborhoods
- Improve quality of service, such as consistent pick-up
- Cost savings by gaining efficiencies in pick-up service Sanitary District Program in Loudoun The Board of Supervisors voted (PDF) to develop a process for establishing a new garbage removal and disposal system, called sanitary districts in Loudoun County, at its February 15, 2022 business meeting. Since then, the county has been analyzing the program’s potential based on multiple considerations, such as cost and staffing, and developing an initial process for establishing sanitary districts. The county has decided to move forward with the initial process to determine interest in potential districts with the greatest benefit - property owners with individual waste collection subscriptions who do not have the benefit of group purchasing power that could help enforce service standards or reduce costs. Project Status Loudoun County has completed the phase of gauging property owners’ interest in receiving garbage removal and disposal services through a sanitary district. The county is now developing additional information about the process and educational resources for residents about sanitary districts. If a sanitary district is established, all residents in the zone will be served through the county-contracted garbage removal and disposal service, except HOA neighborhoods and apartment complexes, without the option to opt out. | Yes | No | |---|---| | Residential property owner in an unincorporated area | Community with a homeowners’ association (HOA) | | Individual garbage removal and disposal service subscriber | Apartment complex | | Residential property in an incorporated town | | | Garbage removal and disposal service is contracted and managed through your town or HOA | | | Commercial or industrial facility | This is an important step to inform the county’s decision making. It will gauge interest and help determine the geographic areas for the sanitary districts.