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Washington County hears public concerns, data gaps during solid-waste plan public hearing
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Summary
Residents and advocacy groups urged stronger recycling, reinstated hauler reporting and action on the Hudson Falls incinerator during a Jan. 17 public hearing on Washington County's Local Solid Waste Management Plan (2020'2029). County planning staff said comments will be summarized and reviewed by committee before final adoption.
The Washington County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing Jan. 17 on the county's draft Local Solid Waste Management Plan for 2020'2029, where residents pressed the county for more aggressive recycling, hauler oversight and action on local environmental risks.
The hearing drew multiple public speakers who urged the county to expand source-separated recycling, reinstate hauler licensing and data reporting, pursue organics diversion and address pollution concerns tied to sewage-sludge compost and the Hudson Falls incinerator. "Washington County is leaving that money on the table," said Tracy Frisch, a Washington County resident and co-founder of Clean Air Action Network of Glens Falls, referring to recent increases in recyclable commodity prices.
Why it matters: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) requires a county solid-waste plan. Residents said the draft as written records limited data and sets modest goals; they urged the supervisors to add measurable targets, restore enforcement tools and pursue pilot programs to reduce food waste and expand recycling access.
Public comment highlights
- Roy Atkinson, a Hudson Falls resident, told the board that public access to transfer stations has been reduced since privatization and that electronics recycling and monitored drop-off options are limited locally. He urged the county to consider market improvements and new DEC funding opportunities to expand recycling options.
- Tracy Frisch pressed for reinstating requirements that haulers offer recycling receptacles and for source-separated collection, saying a mix-collection system disincentivizes recycling. Frisch provided market prices for clean, bailed commodities (corrugated cardboard $124/ton; PET plastic $320/ton; HDPE $480/ton; aluminum cans $1,450/ton) and argued that better municipal controls and aggregation could recover revenue the county currently forfeits to private contractors.
- Emily Healy of Easton recommended education programs through town libraries and schools to rebuild public confidence in recycling and flagged emerging concerns about newer plastic additives.
- Nancy Ellick Crosby said the draft plan lacks baseline data and urged reinstating a waste-hauler licensing and data-reporting requirement so the county can track quantities and destinations for municipal solid waste and recyclables.
- A resident raised concerns about PFAS in sewage-sludge compost produced from the Hudson Falls'Fort Edward wastewater treatment plant, saying tests (not provided in the hearing record) indicated high PFAS concentrations and urging the county to stop distributing or selling that compost until testing and safeguards are in place.
County response and next steps
Laura (county planning staff) told the hearing that "New York DEC requires every county to adopt a solid waste management plan" and described the draft as a "moment in time" inventory based on the data currently available. She said the plan already includes a matrix of potential actions (education, outreach and pilot programs) and that the county will summarize public comments, present them to a county committee (likely agriculture/planning or highway/public works) and decide whether to amend the draft before formal adoption.
Laura said the public comment period remains open through Jan. 24 and that the planning office will accept written submissions and distribute a summary of comments to attendees and interested parties.
Votes at a glance
The board also considered and approved several resolutions with routine roll-call or voice votes during the Jan. 17 session. Individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the public hearing transcript; each action below was moved, seconded and carried by the board.
- Resolution 8 (appoint supervisors to the Soil and Water Conservation District Board). Mover: Supervisor Hankey. Outcome: approved (voice vote).
- Resolution 9 (appoint members to the Inter-County Legislative Committee of the Adirondacks). Mover: Supervisor Hankey; amendment to add Supervisors O'Brien and Hahn carried. Outcome: approved (voice vote).
- Resolution 10 (establish lead agency for SEQR review and set time/place for public hearing on Washington County Consolidated Agricultural District No. 1). Mover: Supervisor Shaw. Outcome: approved (voice vote).
- Resolution 11 (establish lead agency for SEQR review and set time/place for public hearing on Washington County Consolidated Agricultural District No. 2). Mover: Supervisor Shaw. Outcome: approved (voice vote).
- Resolution 12 (write off taxes and cancel interest/penalties, Town of White Creek). Mover: Supervisor Campbell. Outcome: approved (voice vote).
- Resolution 13 (amend 2025 County Road Fund budget for special road painting). Mover: Supervisor Campbell. Outcome: approved (voice vote).
- Resolution 14 (amend Department of Social Services 2024 fiscal-year shortfalls). Mover: Supervisor Campbell. Outcome: approved (voice vote).
Context and outstanding issues
Speakers repeatedly identified three recurring gaps in the draft: (1) limited baseline data about quantities and destinations of trash and recyclables since the county's transfer stations were privatized; (2) the repeal or non-enforcement of hauler licensing and reporting that once helped track flows; and (3) specific environmental concerns tied to the Hudson Falls incinerator and to use or sale of sewage-sludge compost that may contain PFAS. Several speakers pointed to Warren County as a nearby example where the county secured grants and built aggregation and organics pilots, and urged Washington County to pursue similar grants and pilot programs.
What the record does not show
The transcript contains no roll-call vote tallies for the listed resolutions, no finalized numeric targets in the draft plan, and no test results for the PFAS claims cited by speakers. Several commenters referenced grant applications and figures (a near-$100,000 grant for an organics pilot in Warren County; a $1,400,000 EPA grant application for a regional recycling aggregation project; and an estimate that Warren County was "leaving $560,000 on the table" by not aggregating recyclables). Those items were described by speakers as examples, not as county commitments by Washington County staff.
Ending
The county planning office will accept written comments through Jan. 24; planning staff said they will summarize public input and present recommended changes to a committee for consideration before the board adopts a final Local Solid Waste Management Plan for 2020'2029.
