Dear County Executive Metzger and Ulster County Legislators,
In 2019, Ulster County committed to becoming a Zero Waste community – a future where we reduce packaging, reuse and repair goods, recycle materials, and compost organics to avoid landfilling and keep pollution out of our air, water, and soil. However, six years later, there is still no Zero Waste Implementation Plan. Recently, a coalition of local partners sent a letter to Ulster County urging the completion and public release of a comprehensive Zero Waste Implementation Plan before any major new waste infrastructure projects move forward.
The Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (UCRRA) is moving toward signing a 20-year contract with Global NRG for major waste processing infrastructure without a Zero Waste plan in place. This puts taxpayers, communities, and the environment at risk. We are calling on Ulster County to do what it promised: plan first, build later.
The Global NRG facility UCRRA wants to build raises concerns:
Zero Waste does not mean "zero trash overnight." It is a practical, measurable goal: reducing landfill disposal by at least 90% without incineration. Ulster County can and should be a Zero Waste leader in our state.
Sincerely,
[signature block]
In 2019, Ulster County committed to becoming a Zero Waste community – a future where we reduce packaging, reuse and repair goods, recycle materials, and compost organics to avoid landfilling and keep pollution out of our air, water, and soil. However, six years later, there is still no Zero Waste Implementation Plan. Recently, a coalition of local partners sent a letter to Ulster County urging the completion and public release of a comprehensive Zero Waste Implementation Plan before any major new waste infrastructure projects move forward.
The Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (UCRRA) is moving toward signing a 20-year contract with Global NRG for major waste processing infrastructure without a Zero Waste plan in place. This puts taxpayers, communities, and the environment at risk. We are calling on Ulster County to do what it promised: plan first, build later.
The Global NRG facility UCRRA wants to build raises concerns:
- The County risks overbuilding costly infrastructure that requires a steady stream of waste – even as we try to reduce waste. UCRRA manages 100,000 tons of waste per year and is planning for a disposal facility at that capacity, knowing that the goal is to reduce waste. This will leave the county having to import trash from nearby counties to keep this new disposal infrastructure at capacity under the 20-year contract.
- The Global NRG proposal would purport to turn the organic fraction of our trash into compost or soil amendments, which will be contaminated with chemicals that should not be going into gardens or farms. By creating a demand for organic material, the facility will undermine efforts to properly separate and compost food scraps and yard waste.
- The Global NRG proposal would put digester gas into existing gas pipeline and distribution system – a system that leaks methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Mixing this gas with fossil fuel fracked gas distribution system only serves to perpetuate the fossil fuel infrastructure we need to phase out, and will be used to make it look "green."
- Taxpayer dollars could be diverted away from reuse, repair, composting, and recycling, which create more local jobs and environmental benefits.
Zero Waste does not mean "zero trash overnight." It is a practical, measurable goal: reducing landfill disposal by at least 90% without incineration. Ulster County can and should be a Zero Waste leader in our state.
Sincerely,
[signature block]