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Ulster County pushes zero-waste plan, launches 'Green the Scene' grants; lawmakers flag staffing and enforcement gaps
Summary
Deputy Executive Laval briefed the committee on Department of the Environment grant work, a new "Green the Scene" zero-waste events grant funded with $25,000, and plans for MS4 mapping and an organics diversion grant; legislators pressed for staffing and clearer enforcement pathways for the county and the resource agency.
Deputy Executive Laval told the committee the Department of the Environment is in transition and gearing up for grant applications to support stormwater mapping and organics diversion, including a Climate Smart Communities grant for an organics program that could fund municipal transfer-station work and an enforcement/education staff position.
Laval announced that the legislature previously added $25,000 to the department's budget to support zero-waste initiatives and that the department has launched a new "Green the Scene" grant to help local fairs and festivals adopt zero-waste practices. "All the information on that is on Participate Ulster," Laval said, and encouraged event organizers to apply.
Legislators pressed on implementation details. Several members noted that the county's food-waste diversion law was phased in at higher producer thresholds and that many restaurants fall below those triggers; Deputy Executive Laval and Director Ryder said enforcement and outreach have been limited by staffing constraints at the resource recovery agency and that the proposed grant-funded staff could address those gaps. "It's not an enforcement thing if they don't meet that threshold...it could be an education piece," Ryder said, describing outreach and vendor training as part of scaling diversion at events.
Committee members also discussed the Ulster County Fair license, which runs through Dec. 31, 2025, and whether future license terms could require stronger diversion commitments or reimbursement mechanisms that would fund staffing for diversion work. Legislators recommended drawing lessons from the Garlic Festival's multi-year volunteer and vendor-training model as a template for other events.
Next steps: staff will pursue the Climate Smart Communities and MS4 grant applications, deploy the Green the Scene grant, and return with details about how grant-funded positions and county-agency coordination could support enforcement and event diversion.
