OFFICE OF CHAIRMAN SEAN E.

WARD
ALBANY COUNTY LEGISLATURE
112 STATE STREET, ROOM 710
ALBANY, NEW YORK 12207
(518) 447-7117

Comprehensive, updated solid waste plan sought

for Albany County
ALBANY (May 9, 2017) The Albany County Legislature voted unanimously Monday
to ask the County Executive to update Albany Countys nearly six-year-old Solid
Waste Management Plan, published in 2011, so residents can have reliable and
reasonably priced refuse services in the future.
Legislators passed a resolution requesting County Executive Daniel P. McCoy to
update the Albany County Regional Solid Waste Authority Feasibility Study to reflect
advances in waste management technology. The 2011 study concluded that Albany
County should consider joining a regional solid waste authority or create an Albany
County Authority; a regional recycling program could triple the volume of materials
recovered; and existing public disposal facilities will close or be privatized in the
time it takes to develop new ones.
The county currently lacks a comprehensive, updated solid waste policy. The
updated plan needs to include the latest technologies in waste management and
recycling, said Chairman Sean E. Ward (D-Green Island), who introduced the
bipartisan resolution with Democratic Majority Leader Frank Commisso (D-Albany)
and Minority Leader Frank Mauriello (R-Colonie). The new study should include solid
waste and recycling goals, a comparison of prices at other regional waste
management facilities, recycling trends, and information on composting of organic
materials, household hazardous wastes and more.
Refuse is an issue that reaches beyond municipal borders, and solutions for storing
and recycling it should really be looked at on a countywide or regional level, Ward
said. Many changes have occurred in recycling, composting and waste-stream
reduction since 2011, and were asking the county executive to reflect them in an
updated study.
Ward said the County Executive has expressed a willingness to deliver an updated
report to the Albany County Legislature on or before Jan. 1, 2018.