Ulster County resource recovery agency pauses landfill search, shifts to diversion goals and reuse hub planning

Director Ryder, the head of the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, told the Energy, Environment and Sustainability Committee on June 3 that the agency is pausing an active search for a local landfill and shifting its work toward waste diversion goals.

The change is intended to reduce reliance on out-of-county disposal and to meet targets the agency described as 30% diversion by Feb. 2030, 60% by Feb. 2040 and 90% by 2050, goals Ryder said align with the state solid waste management plan. "The agency is putting an indefinite pause on search for landfill. Our focus is shifting towards more of the diversion goals," Ryder said.

The move reflects the agency's assessment of regional capacity and long-term disposal risk. Ryder said Seneca Meadows’ capacity and broader statewide landfill availability are declining and that local or regional capacity must be identified within roughly five years if county waste is to remain local. "When the type of capacity that Seneca Meadows has comes off of the state capacity, that is going to be very detrimental to our residents because it will drive up costs," Ryder said.

Why it matters: the agency manages county solid-waste infrastructure and contract decisions affect disposal costs, transport patterns and where waste ends up. Ryder warned that diminished state capacity could substantially raise costs for residents and the agency over the next 10–15 years.

Key details and next steps

- Agency decision and timeline: Ryder said the pause is indefinite and that, even if Seneca Meadows expands, the county should identify a feasible local or regional landfill site within about five years if it intends to avoid gaps in disposal capacity. "We need to identify a location, if we're gonna try to landfill our waste locally within the next 5 years," Ryder said.

- Diversion targets: Ryder presented the new diversion benchmarks (30% by 2030, 60% by 2040, 90% by 2050) as the primary strategy for reducing future disposal needs.

- Reuse/innovation hub planning: the agency is continuing work on a reuse innovation center and is exploring a lease rather than a purchase to reduce near-term capital needs. Ryder said leasing could be more expensive long term but could enable a hub sooner. He said the agency may cobble together funding rather than pursue a full purchase immediately.

- Budget and capital fund: Ryder reported the agency had a small operating surplus for the month and had set aside about $153,000 toward capital projects, contingent on the rest of the fiscal year remaining on track.

- Regional conversations: Ryder said he has talked with counterparts in Sullivan and Greene counties and participates in a Hudson Valley Regional Council solid-waste working group; he reported limited progress on formal regional siting agreements and noted flow-control differences across counties that complicate joint solutions.

Discussion and concerns

Committee members pressed for more detail on timelines and regional coordination. Legislator Stewart asked whether other counties have been approached; Ryder said conversations are ongoing but material progress has been limited. Legislator Walls said the county has a responsibility to manage its own waste while acknowledging the sensitivity of siting decisions and expressed sympathy for affected property owners.

Ryder said the agency will not simply resume earlier work on specific candidate properties (the "cornerstone report"); instead, he described restarting the process with new consultant work and budgeting to ensure any future site identification is feasible. "One of the things that is important to me is that people understand that we are setting the cornerstone report aside and starting over," Ryder said.

Ending

No formal legislative action was taken at the committee meeting; the agency announced the internal decision to pause landfill site search and outlined a strategy focused on diversion, partner engagement and stepped planning toward either regional cooperation or a locally sited facility if feasible. Committee members asked for additional detail and follow-up in coming months.