City might borrow $400K for new totes

End of commingled recycling would necessitate purchases

The Common Council is considering borrowing $400,000 to buy additional recycling totes for homes and small businesses in the city as part of an effort to return to a dualstream recycling system.

Mayor Steve Noble told the council’s Finance and Audit Committee on Wednesday that the move was in response to a decision by the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency to raise its fee for accepting single-stream recycling and to stop accepting mixed (or commingled) recyclables at the end of this year. He said the city looked into the cost of shipping its single-stream recyclables out of the count and found it was not feasible.

Instead, Noble said, the city should return to dualstream recycling, in which paper and cardboard recyclables are separated from glass, metal and plastic. He said the city currently pays $80 per ton to unload its single-stream recyclables, and that that cost would drop to zero with a dual stream. Noble said the city

recycles about 2,000 tons of materials annually.

The mayor said an education effort will be needed to get city residents used to dual-stream recycling again. “But I think that, at this point, it’s our only option,” he said.

Noble said the $400,000 would be used to buy additional totes of a different color to handle residential paper and cardboard recyclables. He said the city would be reimbursed $200,000 through

a state Department of Environmental Conservation program.

Under the dual-stream system, the city’s Department of Public Works would pick glass, metal and plastic recyclables during the first and third week of each month, and paper and cardboard recyclables during the second and fourth week. Trash would continue to be collected weekly.

Yard waste would be picked up on Fridays,

or when the city’s public works crews have time to collect it, the mayor he said. He said he will add money to the proposed 2019 city budget to pay for seasonal labor to help with yard waste collection during peak times.

In response to Noble’s request, the Finance and Audit Committee moved forward a resolution authorizing the city to borrow $400,000 for the new totes. The resolution will go to the full Common Council

for a vote next month.

Prior to the committee’s vote, Alderman Douglas Koop said he had concerns about additional wear and tear on the city’s vehicles. He also questioned why residents could not use the same tote for all recyclables, just separating them each week according to the city’s schedule. Koop, D-Ward 2, said residents could just store recyclables that are not being collected that week.

Noble said it is less expensive for the city to provide an extra tote than for residents to buy additional storage containers for themselves.

City Comptroller John Tuey added that the goal is to encourage recycling. If residents had to buy their own totes, he said, it could discourage them from recycling as much, meaning they would put more items in the trash. Tuey said the city currently pays $103 per ton to dispose of its trash.