Agency will put $237K state grant toward composting

TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. » The Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency will expand composting operations using a $237,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The department’s grant program is part of a threeyear effort to have large institutions divert materials from the waste stream.

The Resource Recovery Agency board approved the use of the money during a meeting Wednesday afternoon at which county Department of the Environment Director Amanda LaValle said work already has begun to seek participation from organizations that produce significant daily food waste.

“The county has already been doing legwork on identifying potential producers of organic waste so that we can do some education and outreach targeted toward people we hope would be interested in composting,” LaValle said. “This would be schools and other facilities ... and we’re looking for [the Resource Recovery Agency] to do more of the outreach .... ”

LaValle said the goal is for the waste producers to become fully committed to a change in behavior.

“It’s really all about demand and wanting to divert organic waste,” she said. “The general rule of thumb is that up to 20 percent of the waste stream is organics, but it should be composted instead of landfilled. So we’re working to identify where that’s coming from .... ”

LaValle said former agency Recycling Coordinator Michelle Bergkamp should be credited for establishing the composting program.

“There was a lot of foresight in putting that in action,” she said. “Right now, they’re taking a lot of organic waste from Westchester [County], and this is something that needs to be replicated across the region and across communities.”

Ulster County officials are seeking to have the program fully in place when state regulations change in 2021. Starting at the time, facilities that produce more than 2 tons of food waste annually will be required to have a composting plan in place.

The Resource Recovery Agency began composting in 2012 under a permit that initially allowed up to 500 tons of food waste per year to be disposed of in 40-by100-foot area. The program now is allowed to process up to 2,500 tons per year in a 90-by-125-foot area, which agency officials say could be expanded on part of 2 acres that has not been developed.

The agency charges $20 per ton to accept food waste, which is processed into soil over a six-month period. The end product then is sold for $30 per ton to customers who use the soil for gardens, lawns and fill.