Director Ryder updates Reuse Innovation Center plans; Legislature confirms two Resource Recovery Agency appointments

Director Ryder gave multiple operational updates on county reuse and recovery work and answered legislators’ questions about the Reuse Innovation Center (RIC) model and local recycling options.

Ryder said household hazardous waste events will begin April 5 in New Paltz and that people must make appointments. The county’s e-waste collection will run on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ulster Kingston location through November; televisions and other electronic items are accepted for free. Ryder provided tonnage figures for municipal solid waste and construction and demolition (C&D) combined: about 9,966 tons in January and about 8,415 tons in February, both below target tonnages for those months.

Ryder described the RIC model as a hub-and-spoke system: town transfer stations would be spoke collection sites, with salvageable items centralized at the hub for resale, wholesale, consignment or donation to existing nonprofits (Habitat ReStore, People’s Place). The hub would include an on-site retail operation for some contractor-oriented building materials. Ryder clarified that full C&D recycling processing (for instance, gypsum processing) is not planned on-site at the RIC; some separation and reuse activities are expected, but heavier processing may go to outside processors such as Taylor in Orange County. Legislators pressed about mandatory C&D recycling and deconstruction policies as a follow-up.

Separately, the committee took up and approved two confirmation resolutions. Resolution 81 confirms Mike Baden’s appointment to the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency; Resolution 82 confirms James Gordon’s appointment. Both confirmations were moved, seconded and approved by the committee.