A family-owned waste hauling company is accusing Fairfax County of attempting to shut down its operations over what the company says was a legally valid landfill payment.
Champion Services, Inc., which has operated for more than 30 years in Fairfax County, said the County’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services revoked its Certificate-to-Operate on Aug. 13. The order, sent by email and signed by county officials, would have required the company to cease operations immediately.
The revocation cited a missed deadline for landfill fees due on Aug. 9. However, company representatives argue that the deadline fell on a Saturday, and under Virginia Code, payments due on a weekend or holiday are considered timely if made on the next business day. Champion says it submitted payment on Monday, Aug. 11, and the county accepted it.
Despite that, the company stated that Fairfax officials proceeded with the revocation and threatened to call its bond, essentially revoking the insurance plan that allows the company to conduct business in the county.
“There was no penalty, no due process, no warning,” said Vice President Tia McCoy, a member of the family that owns and operates Champion Services. “Just immediate revocation.”
Champion Services stated that the action nearly shut down its operations, threatened the jobs of its employees, and risked leaving approximately 20,000 customers without service. According to the company, it was only after its attorney cited state law, threatened legal action, and demanded a reversal that the county rescinded the revocation the following day.
McCoy said the county did not issue an apology, public correction, or clarification to its customers, who may have received notices about Champion’s removal from the list of permitted solid waste disposal companies in the county before the decision was rescinded.
The incident comes as Fairfax County considers its Unified Sanitation District (USD) proposal, which would install a county-run waste hauling system by 2030. Champion Services and other haulers have raised concerns that the county is taking steps to undermine small operators ahead of that transition.
“Fairfax County is quietly laying the groundwork for its USD proposal — a system that would eliminate all private haulers by 2030,” McCoy said. “While not yet approved, the county has already reached out to us and other companies for ‘feedback,’ and dumping fees continue to increase annually without transparency, which gets passed down to our customers who are fed up with rising costs within Fairfax County.”
According to the Fairfax County government website, about 90% of residents and businesses in Fairfax County currently receive their trash and recycling collection from a private collection company.
Earlier this year, Jeff Edwards, president and owner of Evergreen Disposal, Inc., criticized Fairfax County’s push for a Unified Sanitation District, arguing the move threatens long-standing private haulers and would ultimately harm residents. He said the county has a track record of underperforming compared to private operators. He warned that the USD plan would replace local competition with a centralized system that is more expensive and less flexible.
Champion Services also criticized what it described as “vague, inconsistent, and silent” practices regarding disposal fee increases, stating that customers have faced rising costs without explanation. Fairfax County has promoted the USD plan as a way to save residents “up to 25% annual costs.” However, officials have acknowledged that the estimate was based on other jurisdictions, not a Fairfax-specific analysis.
On its website, the county states the intent of USD is “not to put collectors out of the job.”
Champion Services disputes that assurance, pointing to the revocation as evidence of efforts to displace private haulers before any USD vote has taken place.
McCoy said this isn’t the first time the county has introduced the idea of having a USD. She said her parents had fought against this plan roughly 20 years ago, and Champion Services is one of the only haulers to have opposed it previously that is still in business.
“Residents within the county should have a right to choose who they want to have business with,” McCoy Said. “Knocking the small businesses out before the October vote is bad business.”
“The county needs to answer for this,” McCoy later added.
When asked on Tuesday why the county revoked Champion Services’ Certificate-to-Operate, Matthew Adams, director of the Solid Waste Management Program, said, “Champion is currently under an active enforcement action, and we don’t talk about the specifics of enforcement actions, but Champion is licensed to operate in the county and that issue has been resolved.”
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