Update Report Shows Dutchess County’s Recycling Progress

Update Report Shows Dutchess County’s Recycling Progress

Poughkeepsie, NY… Dutchess County has submitted its Biennial Compliance Report regarding the status of Rethinking Waste, the County’s Local Solid Waste Management Plan, to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The report indicates Dutchess County has sharply increased its recycling rate in the past few years, improving from a rate of 22.9% in 2010 to 36.4% in 2014.

The major objectives of the Rethinking Waste plan include reducing the amount of solid waste generated, increasing reuse and recycling, as well as minimizing how much waste is sent to landfills. The recent numbers indicate that Dutchess County is meeting its objective, and is well on its way to realizing its goal of reaching a 60% recycling rate by 2022. The numbers for 2014 bested the projections for the year by more than 2%, continuing a positive trend, as the actual numbers have beaten the projections every year since 2012.

“The Rethinking Waste plan that we adopted set some very ambitious goals for Dutchess County, not the least of which was to triple our recycling rate over the next decade,” said Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro. “The increase in the recycling rate indicates that we are in a good position to meet our objectives going forward, and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our Division of Solid Waste Management.”

Recycling rates exceeding projections can be attributed to a concentrated effort by the County to increase promotion and education of recycling and reuse, increased enforcement of solid waste regulations, and the conversion to single-stream recycling collection that became available in 2012.

“The fact that we have beaten our recycling projections each of the last three years is certainly an encouraging sign that our efforts are working,” said Lindsay Carille, Dutchess County Deputy Commissioner for Solid Waste Management. “It is important that we continue to vigorously pursue the tasks outlined in the Rethinking Waste plan, such as recycling education, identifying opportunities for increased food and yard waste composting, and the enforcement of regulations to make sure these positive trends continue.”

A compliance report is required to be submitted to the DEC once every two years. For more information about Dutchess County’s recycling efforts or to view a copy of the Biennial Compliance Report, follow this link:
www.co.dutchess.ny.us/CountyGov/Departments/SolidWasteMgmt/SWComplianceReport.pdf

Author: Harlem Valley News