(Photo from Getty Images).
Following a fire that destroyed a registered material recycling facility (MRF) in Broome County that has substantially increased the cost to taxpayers to recycle, Cortland County will begin temporarily depositing recycled materials into the County owned landfill.
Since the January 3rd fire at the Taylor Garbage Service plant in the Town of Apalachin, municipalities like Cortland County have been hit with huge recycling fee increases.
Cortland County has been working diligently to reduce costs associated with recycling as the County resumed operations of its recycling facility on Pendleton Street as of January 1st. Part of the changes include improvements in the quality of the material that residents are bringing to be recycled via local haulers or dropping off at the recycling center.
The entire recycling industry has been struggling to cope with the dramatic changes caused by the restrictions imposed on various recycled commodities. Items that have been routinely considered to be recyclable now are considered waste due to the dramatic collapse of overseas commodities markets.
Locally, the County has attempted to increase consumer awareness as well as refine its recycling stream. Part of that effort has included asking residents to remove glass containers from their recycling bins. Those containers are being collected separately in the City of Cortland. For all other residents you are encouraged to bring the glass to the recycling center where it is being re-used as required daily cover for the County landfill. Residents are encouraged to re-purpose glass containers in their home when possible.
While the County works to refine its process and works to educate the public on the ever shifting recycling landscape this latest loss of a viable regional recycled commodities outlet is forcing the County to temporarily landfill recycled materials.
The County has received permission from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to temporarily landfill the recycled items with the goal of resuming recycling as soon as markets allow. Cortland County Highway Superintendent Charles Sudbrink who has oversight of Solid Waste and Recycling operations in the County says,” landfilling is not the ideal solution but the cost of recycling has reached the point where we cannot afford these substantial cost increases without negatively impacting the taxpayers of the County.” Sudbrink went on to say, “we are meeting with the DEC this week to inquire about developing a paper composting program at the landfill that will at least divert paper from the landfill.”
Sudbrink encourages residents to reduce the amount of material being sent to the landfill by looking for items with packaging that can be re-used instead of single use containers and plastics.
Cortland County receives just under 4,000 tons of recycled material annually. Treating this additional material as waste for a short period of time will have minimal impact on the overall lifespan of the landfill. Sudbrink said, “landfilling is the last resort, we don’t want the public to back away from recycling, we need to weather the storm but we need to do it without hurting the taxpayers. Washington and Albany need to begin addressing this crisis. Recycling starts with manufacturers and consumers at point of purchase, we need to collectively look at ways we can reduce the volume of material produced while the commodities market catches up with the new reality."
This is a press release from the Cortland County Legislature.
