Recently, a coalition of partners sent a letter to Ulster County urging the completion and public release of a Zero Waste Implementation Plan (ZWIP) before any major new waste infrastructure projects move forward — like the proposed Global NRG facility. Submission (redacted) and Cost Proposal (redacted).
Ulster County promised Zero Waste back in 2019, committing to reduce waste, reuse materials, compost organics, and protect the environment. Yet more than six years later, there is still no clear plan showing how the County will get there. Now, Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (UCRRA) is preparing to move forward with a massive anaerobic digestion facility — a $100 million “put-or-pay ” project that would process all of the County’s municipal solid waste and potentially accept waste from neighboring counties.
What are the concerns?
- The facility would rely on mixed-waste inputs, risking contamination of compost and soil amendments.
- Contracts could include long-term “put-or-pay” obligations, locking the County into decades of disposal and limiting future waste reduction.
- The plan includes injecting biomethane into the existing fracked-gas system, raising environmental and climate concerns.
- High costs could divert funding away from proven Zero Waste strategies like reduction, repair, reuse, recycling, and composting.
Without a completed ZWIP, Ulster County risks overbuilding expensive infrastructure that could undermine its Zero Waste goals. The County’s own UCRRA Reform Committee has confirmed that new systems and laws, including separating food scraps and organics, are needed to meet Zero Waste targets. These changes cannot happen without a guiding, publicly adopted plan.
What a credible Zero Waste Implementation Plan must do:
- Follow the internationally recognized Zero Waste Hierarchy, prioritizing reduction, reuse, repair, recycling, and composting — prohibiting incineration.
- Include clear timelines, measurable milestones, and phased pilot programs.
- Invest in core infrastructure like Resource Renovation/Reuse and Repair Centers.
- Be regularly updated and publicly reviewed, with stable funding mechanisms.
The request:
- Pause all new major waste infrastructure decisions until the ZWIP is complete and formally adopted.
- Remove the silos and convene a collaborative planning process with the Legislature, County Executive, UCRRA, community advocates, and other stakeholders.
- Complete, adopt, and publicly release a plan that ensures infrastructure decisions support, rather than undermine, the County’s Zero Waste commitment.
The Zero Waste Hierarchy is achievable, operationally defined as a 90% reduction in landfill disposal without incineration, and communities around the world are proving it works. Ulster County residents deserve a transparent, credible roadmap before any irreversible infrastructure decisions are made.
TAKE ACTION TODAY
SIGN OUR PETITION Request a Zero Waste Implementation Plan Before Ulster County Commits to Costly New Waste Infrastructure.
IF YOU LIVE IN ULSTER COUNTY: Pass a memorializing resolution in your community to support the completion and adoption of an Ulster County Zero Waste Implementation Plan.
If you live in a municipality within Ulster County, we’ve developed this tool kit that provides our coalition letter, an FAQ and draft memorializing resolution calling on “Ulster County to Complete and Adopt a Zero Waste Implementation Plan Prior to Advancing Major Waste Infrastructure Projects”