Waste

Ulster County Must Finish — and Adopt — Its Zero Waste Implementation Plan

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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 

The City of Kingston’s composting program “rots”!

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Photo credit: Julie Noble

By Rebecca Martin

The City of Kingston’s composting program “rots”!

Composting is the process of  breaking down organic waste, like food scraps, to create nutrient-rich compost. This process involves rotting, or the destructive dissolution of organic matter. When we remove food waste from the waste system, with composting,  we are actively diverting food scraps from our regular trash and turning them into nutrient rich soil. It is essentially taking food out of the landfill where it would otherwise decompose and produce harmful methane gas; this helps reduce environmental impact and conserve resources used to produce food. 

According to the EPA, 22% of our waste stream is food scraps, meaning it is the largest single category of waste sent to landfills

Composting’s benefits include saving our community tax dollars. Kingston’s garbage is hauled more than 250 miles away to the Seneca Meadows Landfill. The tipping fees are extremely expensive and are getting more so with each passing year. 

As it pertains to environmental justice, Seneca Meadows Landfill is located in Seneca Falls, a small town of a little more than 9,000 people. They are enduring great harms living next to one of the largest active landfills in New York State that accepts trash from communities like ours.

Established in 1953, Seneca Meadows landfill has a permitted waste capacity of 6,000 tons per day. The landfill will reach capacity by the end of 2025, coinciding with the expiration of its existing permit. They want to profit as much as they can and kick the can down the road to expand their capacity by 47 acres and extend their permit in 2040.  Here’s what Seneca Lake Guardians, made up of community members living in Seneca Falls, think about that. We must understand  how we are contributing to their community harms and stop it.

Recently, Ulster County announced it wanted to find a landfill of its own in the county with much public outrage.  Now imagine how Seneca Falls community members feel about communities like ours sending our unending stream of trash there. 

It’s unjust and unfair.  

It’s why the county must approve its Zero Waste Management plan that it’s been working on for a long time, and why we endorse a landfill in Ulster County.  Why should we place the burden of our waste on a community 250 miles away? The only way that we are going to make changes is to take on the burden  right here at home.

Zero waste is key and composing is an opportunity for Kingston residents. Let’s get the ball rolling to take responsibility for what we are throwing out.  Sign-up to Kingston Organics.  I’ve taken pictures of my weekly haul to show you just how easy it is to get food scraps, meats, bones, etc. out of our waste stream.

Step one:
Make a designated can for all of your food scraps. You can capture meat and bones, too. I’ve lined mine with a bag that I can wash and use again for a couple of months of collection.
Step two:
I collect my food scrapes for a week to deliver on Sunday’s. Kingston has a number of locations that are close to you that you can deliver to.
Step three:
I visit the location in the Rondout to bring my food scraps for composing.
Step four:
There is a simple passcode to access the bins (you’ll get the code once you sign-up)
Step five:
Dump and go! By doing so, you’ve contributed to eliminating unnecessary food scraps from our waste stream, making less emissions and saving tax dollars in tipping fees from delivering our trash to Seneca Meadows, some 250 miles away.