By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

December 14, 2015 07:46:25 AM

ALBANY (Scrap Monster): The Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) board of directors has given final approval to a program granting financial incentives to counties that implement single-stream recycling.

According to the program, the Authority will contribute one-third of the capital investments made by counties towards implementation of single-stream recycling. The contribution will be capped at $100,000 per county. Also, the counties will be reimbursed an amount equivalent to $5 per ton of recyclables sent to single-stream recycling facilities. The program will initially operate for a period of 15 months, after which it will be assessed based on the amount of recyclables reaching the county landfills.

Incidentally, DANC provides comprehensive program of economic development activities in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties. Among the three counties, St. Lawrence implemented single stream recycling in 2013, in partnership with Stanley-based Casella Waste Systems. Lewis County plans to implement single-stream recycling by transporting collected recyclables to Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority in Utica. Jefferson County which still has source-separated recycling system in place, has not yet announced any plan to switch to single-stream recycling.

The DANC program aims to provide financial aid to Jefferson County to implement single-stream recycling system. The Counties that have already switched to single-stream recycling will be eligible for grant to buy new equipment such as trucks and compactors to enhance the existing collection and transportation system.

The waste composition study conducted earlier had revealed that around one-fourth of the waste sample was composed of recyclable materials that could have been delivered to transfer stations across the counties. Also, 35% was trash materials that could not be recycled. The remaining 40% comprised of materials that could not be currently recycled at transfer stations. When compared with 2010 sample, the weight of recyclable materials in this year’s sample saw sharp fall of nearly 25%.