By Rebecca Martin
Ulster County is on the verge of making a major, long-term decision about how it handles trash—before completing the work it already committed to do.
Despite years of discussion and a formal zero waste policy adopted by the Ulster County Legislature in 2019, the County’s Zero Waste Implementation Plan has still not been completed or adopted. That unfinished work now looms large as the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (UCRRA) advances negotiations for a costly project.
At a Friday, December 12 board meeting, the UCRRA board granted Executive Director Marc Rider authority to negotiate with London-based developer Global NRG for a “cutting-edge” solid waste disposal facility. The proposed project would occupy five acres adjacent to the UCRRA complex at 999 Flatbush Avenue (State Route 32). Global NRG would lease the land but build, own, and operate the facility—at an estimated cost of $100 million.
According to a recent article, the facility would take in all of UCRRA’s municipal solid waste, forecast at 107,100 tons in 2025, with claims that landfill disposal would be reduced by 70 percent. Rider described a mixed materials recovery system using conveyor belts, magnets, and AI-driven optical sorting before converting trash into gas.
These promises may sound appealing—but gasification-style “waste-to-energy” systems raise concerns about air quality and toxic byproducts. These technologies have known environmental and operational uncertainties, including the need for a guaranteed, long-term supply of trash—risks undermining zero waste goals.
What makes this moment especially troubling is that Ulster County’s Zero Waste Implementation Plan remains unfinished.
While the County adopted a zero waste policy in 2019, the practical roadmap for how to achieve it—the implementation plan—has stalled repeatedly. At one point, approximately $10,000 was allocated toward advancing the plan, yet it was never brought to completion. Now, responsibility for finishing it rests with the Legislature, which would need to pass a budget amendment in the 2026 budget to complete the work. Without that action, the plan could be delayed yet again, potentially for years.
This matters because zero waste is not a slogan; it is a strategy. A true zero waste approach prioritizes waste reduction at the source, organics diversion, reuse and repair, and steady decreases in disposal. Entering into a long-term agreement for a facility that depends on a constant flow of trash risks creating incentives that conflict with the waste reduction strategies zero waste is meant to promote.
Ulster County should not lock itself into an expensive, high-risk waste-to-energy project while the Zero Waste Implementation Plan—promised years ago—remains unfinished and unfunded, pre-empting the very waste-reduction strategies the County claims to support.
TAKE ACTION: Call your Ulster County Legislator to discuss this problem, and urge them to amend the budget to complete, adopt, and fully fund our Zero Waste Implementation plan—and put it to work. With each year of delay, we risk relying on projects that do nothing to reduce waste at the source or expand composting—a status quo we can no longer afford.
READ: Ulster agency eyes 70% reduction of garbage going to landfills with trash-to-gas system
