Putnam County health staff outline updated 10-year solid waste plan, prioritize vape and battery disposal

Putnam County Health Department solid waste staff on Monday told the Health, Social, Educational, Environmental Committee that the county is drafting a 10-year local solid waste management plan to meet updated New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) expectations and to reduce waste, increase reuse and recycling, and address hazardous consumer products. Savannah Usher, solid waste program manager, said the plan will cover 2025–2034 and will be submitted to the DEC for technical review followed by a required 45-day public comment period.

The plan is being written to align with five statewide focus areas the DEC released this year, Usher said, including product stewardship/extended producer responsibility, organics reduction and recycling, waste reduction and reuse, recycling-market development and facility design/operations. She said Putnam’s plan will emphasize unified countywide policies, stronger permitting and compliance checks, improved municipal data reporting, and expanded public education.

Putnam County’s current gaps, Usher told legislators, include an expired local solid waste management plan (in place since 2020), limited municipal engagement, scant municipal data on waste generation and disposal, and only a few local programs such as Keep Putnam Beautiful, household hazardous waste days, and compost-bin promotions. Without up-to-date planning and coordinated data collection, staff said, the county lacks reliable information on how much waste is generated and how it is handled.

Usher identified vape devices and rechargeable batteries as a near-term priority. She said improperly discarded vapes — which contain sealed lithium batteries — pose fire and environmental hazards and are difficult to recycle because of device design and low public awareness. Usher said the New York State attorney general’s office has indicated that funds from the JUUL settlement may be used for safe disposal programs and that the county is working with the Prevention Council and Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES on school- and community-focused disposal options.

Legislators asked whether state rules require an in-county disposal facility and where county municipal solid waste is processed. Usher replied that DEC no longer requires an in-county disposal solution and that none of Putnam County’s municipal solid waste is processed inside the county; material is transferred out through transfer stations or recycling centers in Patterson, Philipstown and Kent. She said the detailed destinations by hauler and waste stream will be included in the draft plan and made public during the DEC-required comment period.

Usher described implementation actions where the legislature can help: identifying and approving budget funding and grant applications, supporting community engagement and education, amending county code where necessary to support state-aligned goals, and ultimately passing a legislative resolution to adopt the local solid waste management plan after the DEC review and public comment.

Committee members and residents asked about consumer-level education (for example, stickers on bins to reduce contamination), the county’s work with municipal supervisors and village mayors, plans for a county composting facility and drop‑off programs, and whether retailers or manufacturers could be required to take responsibility for disposal (product stewardship). Usher said she has already contacted town supervisors and village mayors and plans to re-start a multi-stakeholder solid waste focus group and reinvigorate the Putnam Recycles website and education materials. She said grant opportunities are being pursued for education and infrastructure work and that the county will include an implementation roadmap in the plan.

The health department’s next steps are to complete the draft local solid waste management plan, submit it to the NYS DEC for technical review, post it for the 45-day public comment period with required notice and a public presentation, prepare a responsiveness summary of comments received, make any necessary revisions, and then return the plan to the DEC for final approval before the legislature adopts it by resolution. Usher invited feedback from legislators and the public to inform short- and long-term goals.

Sources: Putnam County Health Department presentation to Health, Social, Educational, Environmental Committee; staff answers to legislator questions.