As the two landfills in the county begin to fill up, municipalities are starting to think — fast — about the future. One resolution passed unanimously in the legislature suggests that the issue should be handled on a regional, or at least county-wide, level.
It’s time, says first-term Legislator Frank Mauriello (R-Colonie), to update Albany County’s 2011 feasibility study on recycling and solid-waste management. The study was conducted six years ago for the county by Barton and Loguidice, but its final recommendation — that a regional solid-waste authority be created — was never adopted.
In May, together with Sean Ward — a Democrat from the 16th District and the legislature’s chairman — and Frank Commisso, a Democrat from the 11th District and the majority leader, Mauriello introduced Resolution 210, which asks the county to update that study, called the Albany County Regional Solid Waste Authority Feasibility Study.
The resolution, which passed unanimously in the legislature and now awaits County Executive Daniel McCoy’s signature, says that new technologies have been developed since 2011.
McCoy, who was chairman of the legislature before he was elected county executive in 2012, added that he doesn’t see any reason not to sign Resolution 210, although he is still looking into it.
Asked how the county looked into the feasibility of a regional authority after the initial study was done, McCoy’s spokeswoman, Mary Rozak, wrote in an email, “I can’t speak to the actions taken after the completion of the study, as we hadn’t taken office yet.”
McCoy said that when he first got into office, he looked at the study, and that he has since been “trying to see what we can do.”
“It’s a study that has to be done on a Capital District basis, it can’t just be Albany County,” said McCoy. “It has to be multiple counties involved, and then you have to agree to the terms.”
The original study was done on a regional scale. But, Rozak said, “the regional cooperation never materialized.”
Asked why municipalities would be more likely now than they were six years ago to cooperate in a regional consortium, Mauriello pointed to party politics.
“We’re the ones that initiated the study, we’re the ones who are going to make sure it’s completed and who are going to make sure the recommendations are implemented,” Mauriello said, referring to himself and his Republican colleagues.
A regional authority could only be created in partnership with New York State and the nearby counties said McCoy, partly because of the prohibitive costs of setting it up. “If you build a facility that size,” he said, “first, you’ve got to make sure you’ve got enough trash coming in, and then you’ve got to pay for it.”
The original study found that the area generates enough waste — more than 2 million tons per year — to support the development of facilities for a comprehensive, coordinated system.
As of 2011, several municipalities in New York had developed successful solid-waste management authorities, according to the report. Dutchess, Islip, Oneida-Herkimer, Rockland, Ulster, and Western Finger Lakes had developed materials recovery facilities to process recyclable materials for marketing and Onondaga and Oneida-Herkimer had achieved two of the best recycling rates in the state.
McCoy said that the most successful regional authorities that he is aware of are all in Europe — they include very large recycling centers and generally incinerate waste. They are the closest to what he said is his goal, of “seeing zero go back in the ground.”
Those facilities, he said, “burn cleaner air than we breathe.”
The county has been looking into the feasibility of such an authority here, McCoy said. “But it costs a lot of money. Who’s going to pay for it? Who’s going to manage it?” he asked.
The 2011 study looked at Albany County and the surrounding counties of Columbia, Greene, Montgomery, Renssealaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Washington.
McCoy said, “Obviously, if we go to something like that, I don’t know if you remember when we had the problems with cancers down in the South End of Albany, but we don’t want to get into that again. We want to make sure we don’t make those mistakes as we go forward. Everything has to be done in the best way for the environment.”
To read the full story, visit https://altamontenterprise.com/06082017/future-waste-landfills-reaching-capacity.