Warren County, New York
Occasionally, someone asks "What does Zero Waste have to do with Clean Air?" Here is Tracy's answer.
The Wheelabrator Hudson Falls trash incinerator is the most polluting industrial plant in Washington and Warren County combined. Burning waste makes toxic ash (which goes to a landfill) and toxic air pollution. It's a terrible practice.
Trash incinerators, like the one in Hudson Falls, are hungry for garbage. They thrive on communities and businesses generating unlimited garbage. But with Zero Waste, the amount of stuff that goes in the trash can be greatly reduced. And more of our discarded stuff can be diverted to actually be recycled, to make quality compost, and for reuse -- all of which have value, monetarily and for society and the environment. Zero Waste saves resources, cuts pollution, and makes sense economically.
Learn about Zero Waste, the proven approach for reducing the amount of waste going for disposal and making pollution, at the first ZERO WASTE NEW YORK webinar on Wed, July 22. Register at zerowasteny/webinar. We hope to see you there.
Modernizing Warren County Transfer Stations
COLLABORATION WITH WARREN COUNTY
In response to the Warren County Local Solid Waste Management Plan for 2019-2028,
Zero Waste Warren County Committee issued a detailed commentary, our “Zero Waste
Vision”, which was shared with Warren County Supervisors and the public (see PDF button below). This has led to on-going collab oration with Warren County, and the hiring of the Solid Waste and Recycling Compliance Coordinator who is now tracking private haulers and recyclables.
Several Zero Waste Warren County committee members visited half of the 12 transfer stations in Warren County in 2021 and produced the “Transfer Station Revitalization Report” highlighting best practices and recommendations (link below). This report promoted standardizing solid waste collection systems across our municipal transfer stations in response to new markets and zero waste practices. It was presented to the Warren County Public Works Committee and sparked interest in initiating a
demonstration project of collecting clean flattened cardboard (OCC) collected from participating transfer stations, baling it, storing it, and selling directly to paper mills, thus making money for the towns instead of significantly costing the towns to haul it away. This model has the potential to use developing markets for other solid waste and recyclables.
Read Our Vision here:
Read our April 2022 report: Revitalizing Our Transfer Stations Best Practices and Recommendations Prepared by Zero Waste Warren County, NY
