SHV is honored and excited to be working under contract with Ulster County to develop a strategic plan for a ReUse Innovation Center inspired by Repair Cafe
Hudson Valley founder John K. Wackman. We are working with the top national expert in reuse-based economic development, Dave Bennink of Reuse Consulting in
Bellingham, Washington. Dave has created several Reuse Innovation Centers — ecosystems of businesses that share a space or district and profitably reuse a spectrum of materials. He is experienced in developing reuse based businesses at many scales and with diverse approaches, from entrepreneur-driven approaches and businesses with early profitability that don’t rely on grants, to publicly-owned, technically complex business ventures. Dave loves talking with people about the circular economy.
Our assignment is to:
- Examine the waste stream to identify the materials that are
currently landfilled and recycled. - Examine the “repair stream” of items typically fixed at Repair
Cafes in and around Ulster County, to identify possible repair-
oriented businesses and/or training programs that could be part of
the Center. - Analyze reuse-based business opportunities.
- Consider site features, capacity and location options.
- Work closely with stakeholders including public agencies, elected
officials, potential business partners, investors, regulators,
advocates and others to build on this analysis and conceptualize a
Reuse Innovation Center that will divert major amounts of waste
while creating jobs, education and inspiration.
To maintain relationships and solicit feedback as needed, we will update stakeholders regularly. Building a community of stakeholders who are available to advise throughout the project – and to whom we are accountable – is central to the success of this project.
We want to know what to include in the ReUse Innovation Center. Take our Survey!
Tasks
Task 1: Characterization of the Ulster County Waste Stream
Recognizing that the primary focus of the RIC facility is to divert solid waste generated within Ulster County that would otherwise be landfilled, we will begin by identifying these materials and characterizing them as to weight and volume. The team will use UCRRA’s reports to DEC on waste stream components, and visual observations, to create an estimate of the composition of materials. In the Reuse Innovation Centers developed to date by ReUse Consulting, these materials are separated before they are received, and ideally are processed to some extent (e.g. de-nailing of C & D materials). We will assess the extent to which these types of preparation are possible in Ulster County’s system.
Task 2: Identification and Analysis of Waste Diversion Programs & Activities
Our team’s national reach and experience with reuse programs positions us to move quickly with identification and analysis of programs and activities to divert waste from landfills and create a flourishing ecosystem of reuse innovation activities. Issues identified by the County for further consideration include potentially necessary separation methods and issues including potential contamination issues and transportation. We will be guided by our experience with the priority materials in the waste characterization by stakeholder engagement for “ground truth” of opportunities and concerns.
Task 3: RIC Conceptual Plan
We will review the data collected on all these types of waste diversion programs, including their environmental and economic benefits. This examination will identify a top tier of programs that will maximize diversion of the County’s priority waste streams and generate financial viability for the Center as a whole. We expect this to involve a range of product sales and service enterprises at a variety of scales. We will consider these options from such perspectives as local markets, ease of startup, achievable capital requirements, lack of competing enterprises – and most of all, people showing an interest in producing the products of interest. We know that each material in the waste stream represents an opportunity, and so does each diversion strategy. But what rises to the top will be the materials and strategies that have committed champions in the community.
Task 4: RIC Site Selection Considerations
Each of the programming options identified in the previous task will present its own siting requirements for operations, materials delivery, and customer interaction, as well as common workspace for creative projects among the occupants that this collaborative model naturally gives rise to. Considering these factors in detail makes an important difference in the productivity of a site for the combination of intended uses. This supports the development of a new site or substantial adaptation of a reused site.
Task 5: Final Report
We are proposing a fairly aggressive timeline for this initiative, in order to be able to develop the Final Report in a careful, consultative way and include all considerations that have come to us from stakeholders. The report will outline the process of discovery about Ulster County’s waste stream, recycling capabilities, repair opportunities and stakeholders’ observations about the opportunities to be captured by creating a Reuse Innovation Center. It will summarize the waste diversion program types and, for each, the considerations for success, and outline our reasons for the priority programs we recommend. It will summarize the conceptual design of the RIC and the siting factors that we regard as critical for a successful center. And it will add detailed operating and construction costs and budgets, and a review of possible funding sources. In the timeline that follows, we outline our plan for having a draft final report ready for a stakeholder feedback session by Month 10 of the year contract.

Characterization of the Ulster County Waste Stream
Our goal in this project being diversion of waste, we have examined the current information available on waste
materials flows in Ulster County. This draft analysis is meant to characterize the waste stream in terms of opportunities for waste diversion that are best accomplished by the reuse innovation center.
Read the Waste Characterization Analysis

Analysis Waste Diversion Programs & of Activities
Sustainable Hudson Valley’s team conducted a literature review and several interviews in order
to identify the widest possible range of program possibilities for materials diversion and
reuse-based industries.
Read the Diversion Programs Analysis

RIC Conceptual Plan
Read the Draft Conceptual Plan

RIC Site Selection Considerations
Siting Considerations for the RIC will be based on needs and effective strategy identified in the Conceptual Plan and what we have learned from characterizing the waste stream and diversion opportunities in Ulster County.
Siting Considerations – COMING SOON

