Ulster County waste agency proposes higher tipping fees, seeks compost grant and new diversion contracts

The Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (UCRRA) reported proposed changes to its 2026 budget and related programs at the Sept. 2 Energy, Environment and Sustainability Committee meeting, including a rise in tipping fees for most customers, a grant-dependent expansion of composting and continued work on a diversion-request-for-proposals. Director Mark Ryder outlined the numbers and next steps.

Ryder said the agency’s board approved a draft 2026 budget that moves overall expenditures “slightly up” within a roughly $23,000,000 budget and would increase the tipping fee for general customers and haulers to $1.50 per ton while holding municipal rates at $1.35 per ton. “We plan on partnering with the MRDCs more when it comes to getting organics out of the waste stream and when it comes to reuse,” Ryder said. He described the municipal hold-harmless as both an incentive for towns to partner and a recognition that municipalities deliver less than 10% of inbound tons.

Why it matters: the tipping-fee change affects the per-ton disposal cost hauled to UCRRA facilities and is the principal mechanism by which UCRRA balances revenues and expenses. Ryder walked committee members through three main drivers of the roughly $15-per-ton increase embedded in the draft: about $4 per ton tied to a planned “repower”/reuse center, roughly $4 per ton tied to an anticipated 5% collective bargaining wage increase for union employees, and roughly $4 per ton for higher…