Reuse Innovation Center

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.