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UCRRA educator outlines county recycling system, warns landfill dependence is costly
Summary
Eva Barnett of the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency summarized county waste volumes, recycling operations and the agency's push for alternatives to landfill disposal, noting long-haul shipments to Seneca Meadows and the economic limits of current systems.
Eva Barnett, recycling educator at the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, told the town's Conservation Advisory Council that UCRRA manages the county's municipal solid waste and recycling programs and has been doing so since the agency was created in 1986. "For all of the MSW generated in Ulster County, we are responsible for that final disposal," Barnett said, and she described routine shipments to a Seneca Meadows landfill about 500 miles round trip.
Barnett gave a brief accounting of volumes and operations: Ulster County generates roughly 100,000 tons of municipal solid waste and about 50,000 tons of construction and demolition debris annually, she said, and the county loads about 15 tractor-trailers a day with approximately 35 tons each. "This is becoming increasingly expensive and uncertain as landfill capacity is dwindling," Barnett said, framing the agency's emphasis on recycling, reuse and waste reduction as both environmental and fiscal priorities.
Barnett urged residents to consult UCRRA resources (theucrra.org) for the agency's long-term solid-waste management plan and listed UCRRA services including facility tours, commercial composting demonstrations and outreach at libraries and schools. She also highlighted partnerships that offer free festival rental bins and a directory of local repair and reuse services to extend product life cycles.
