Brenda Platt exposes proposed Dutchess SWMP for merely giving lip service to composting instead of getting serious about it

Check out this new analysis of the proposed Dutchess Solid Waste Management Plan-- from Brenda Platt, Director, Composting for Community Project for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance... Click here to read proposed misguided Dutchess SWMP itself: https://www.dutchessny.gov//ConCalAtt/2/2023159.pdf [pages 135 thru 239 are filled with dozens and dozens of letters/emails from local residents demanding something better(!)] [recall as well-- https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Solid-Waste-Management/Docs/Draft-Dutchess-County-LSWMP-Plan.pdf https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Solid-Waste-Management/Solid-Waste-Management-Plan-Rethinking-Waste.htm ] Thursday Sept. 7th the Co. Leg. Environmental Committee meets at 5:45 pm— public comment will be allowed with a three-minute limit for each person before legislators will vote on the SWMP— agenda just released; come out, speak up(!): https://www.dutchessny.gov/Calendar-Page.htm?fromdate=2023-09-07&thrudate=2023-09-08&myselectedDeptid=225 From Brenda Platt (bplatt@ilsr.org): Hi Joel, Here are my notes on the proposed SWM Plan for Dutchess County. WTE = a facility that destroys MSW through combustion [they got that part right in the definition!] Increased organic composting opportunities, most done voluntarily and little opportunity for residents to participate [the plan is extremely weak on how to actually reduce and recover organic materials; it's like they didn't even try to address who to increase opportunities for residents and businesses] Home composting - promoted thru sale of no-cost BY bins; 61 bins have been sold [but they sell the bins for $62 each! and only 61 have been sold!! That is hardly what I'd call a program. See my report, Yes! In My Backyard: A Home Composting Guide for Local Government, on how the County could do much better] “We have a WTE facility that processes waste in an environmentally sound manner, recovers metals from the waste and produces electricity” [they don't even acknowledge anywhere in this plan that incineration emits pollutants - very egregious, concerning and misleading, to put it politely] 50,000 tons per year of ash ($3 million/year) from combusting 150,000 tons per year of Municipal Solid Waste [compare these tonnage figures to the 1,200 tons of food scraps reported as composted, the latter being absolutely paltry and there's no question the Plan should be much more concrete on how to reduce incineration] “Organic composting” is weird terminology. Typically food scraps and yard trimmings are described as organic materials but no one says "organic composting," indicating how little they know of this field “Foresight to build” a WTE facility in the 1980s [haha] A solution is needed, only 2 options exist: landfilling and WTE [this is just plain not true of course: reducing waste and reusing, recycling, and composting are other options; it is false to only present disposal as the only solutions] Ash used "beneficially" as daily cover for landfills [this is a concern and should not be allowed] Calls for expanded "beneficial use" of incinerator ash such as in road bed material “would make economic and ecological sense” [What nonsense. It does not make economic nor ecological sense. Plan acknowledges they spend $3 million/year managing ash. Alarming trend is the increase in projects to use incinerator ash. Disperse incinerator ash throughout the environment by mixing into road sub-base materials, asphalt, concrete, and structural fill.] Republic Services - handles most County recyclables (77%) 600 tpd capacity Single-stream facility [Republic is one of 5 waste conglomerates that controls the $91 billion waste industry; single-stream leads to poor quality recyclables. Their reliance on Republic indicates their ignorance of the potential to create local jobs and independent businesses. See Neil's excellent work on waste monopolies here: https://ilsr.org/fighting-monopoly-power/recycling-waste/] McEnroe Organic Farm - privately operated compost site that accepts food (permit allows 40,000 cy/yr) Community Compost Co., Ulster Co. site offers FS DO at farmers’ markets for a fee, Beacon eg. 2020- hauler reports, 1,200+ tons food scraps composted Two state prisons compost onsite: Green Haven Prison and Fishkill Correctional [these existing sites/operators could potentially help become models for replication or help the County expand infrastructure and programs. If the County wants to increase food waste diversion, they should support them so they're free for residents to participate] YW - accepted at most of the 15 local transfer stations No County program for collection or composting of YW and residents are encouraged to BY compost [again, the BY composting program is extremely weak and the fact that the County doesn't have a program to collect or compost YW is mind boggling. But I may be reading this wrong in that maybe the towns/villages are all composting YW on their own.] Hope to complete a study of the type and size of a compost facility within the 10-year planning period. !! p. 56 [this is nuts. Instead of the 10 year plan incorporating how to compost more, it simply states that we hope to complete a study on this in the next 10 years. Wow. I can't believe how backward this plan is.] PAYT - [county doesn’t provide collection so they wash their hands of this successful tool in the toolbox] P. 68, “for Dutchess County the priority option for disposal of waste that has not been diverted has not changed in 30 years, the WTE facility” [so telling! obviously they don't want to change a thing] I think some of the other points I made during the Zoom call were: - center job creation and local economic development in the plan https://ilsr.org/food-waste-hierarchy/ https://ilsr.org/recycling-means-business/ - could be much stronger on reuse and moving to durables - opportunity to include waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting in local Climate Action Plans. Lots of money coming for climate pollution prevention but the strategies need to be in the local climate action plans in order to open up those funding doors -- Brenda Platt @PlattBrenda Director, Composting for Community Project Institute for Local Self-Reliance www.ilsr.org/composting work voicemail line: 202-827-0842 Check out our composting resources in Spanish! https://ilsr.org/recursos-de-compostaje/