Trash bins made from trash: Central Virginia municipalities invest in new recycling venture

by Shannon Heckt, Virginia Mercury
October 17, 2025

Richmond region residents will soon be able to throw out their trash in bins that were once garbage themselves. Several Central Virginia localities have invested in 3,000 new trash carts partially made with a plastic-alternative material created by a waste diversion company.

The Israel-based company UBQ ships European garbage to their production site in the Netherlands, where items destined for the landfill — such as organic matter, plastic, and other waste besides metal and glass — are ground down. The shredded waste is then made into pellets that are shipped to other companies that use them to make items like the garbage carts, flower pots, and other plastic goods. While no American trash is used to make the UBQ materials, local leaders are eager to invest in programs that help reduce waste and carbon emissions.

“Here in Central Virginia, we generate and discard about 1.2 million tons of waste every year. Statewide Virginia manages more than 20 million tons annually… However, much of what isn’t recycled ends up in landfills, and that’s exactly why bringing UBQ’s technology to the United States and to Virginia is so important,” said Kim Hynes, Executive Director of the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority.

The carts are manufactured by Cascade Engineering in Michigan. The carts purchased by the city, county, and surrounding municipalities of Hopewell, Ashland, and Colonial Heights, total about a $100,000 investment. They will be given out to new homes being built or to homes that need a replacement cart.

UBQ estimates a 7.5% carbon emission reduction from making the carts with their product rather than non-recycled materials. The carbon reduction estimate does not take into account the climate impacts of transportation, production, compounding, and other processes in making the materials. The carts purchased by Virginia agencies are made of an estimated 5% of UBQ materials and some other recycled plastics. 

“Today’s announcement marks more than just the launch of new trash carts. It marks a new way of thinking about waste, turning what we once discarded into something useful,” said Laura Thomas, Director of the Richmond Office of Sustainability.

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