Village mulls changes in recycling collections

Village officials are considering whether changes will be needed to the twice-weekly recycling collections in the municipal lot off of Partition Street.

Anticipation that additional containers will be needed for recycling were discussed at a Village Board meeting last week.

The village currently pays $1,300 per month for Sweeny Carting to remove solid waste and singlestream recycling from the containers twice a week.

“We may have to look at ... coming up with compartmentalized trailers so we don’t continue to fund (the hauler) at an exorbitant rate that the (Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency) is going to end up charging the village,” Trustee Terry Parisian said.

The agency’s board has approved an increase in fees to accept single-stream recycling from $20 to $40 per ton effective July 1, and expects to discontinue taking commingled recycling materials in 2019. A public hearing on the changes has been set for 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, at the agency’s office at 999 Flatbush Avenue/state Route 32, town of Ulster.

Agency officials contend the current fee covers only about a third of the cost of disposal of recyclable material. They say the market for single-stream loads is diminishing because of contamination from improperly mixed recyclable material or from solid waste.

The Resource Recovery Agency is not obligated to take single-stream recycling and does not have the equipment to separate items in a single-stream load. However, the agency is required to take recycling that has been separated and looks for buyers for paper, metal, and glass.

Mayor Bill Murphy said the village will review notices provided by the agency to determine if a change in fees can be implemented in mid-year.

“Under our village agreement, they have to give us a year notice,” he said.

Murphy said trying to get people to return to the practice of separating recycling material will be difficult. In making the point, he inadvertently agreed with the agency’s position that single-stream recycling has not succeeded because people are also disposing of items that contaminate the loads.

“I know the problem they have with people who come with stuff that they consider recycling that’s not recycling,” he said. “You tell them that it’s not recycling and they fight with you. They think that Styrofoam’s recyclable; it’s not. They think plastic bags are recyclable, they’re not.”

While grocery stores do accept plastic bags to be recycled, agencies like the Resource Recovery Agency do not have the equipment to recycle them.