Public can comment through Dec. 31
Five years after it was due, Putnam County has released a draft of its updated Solid Waste Management Plan and is seeking public comments through Dec. 31.
Each county in New York state is required by law to update its solid waste plans every 10 years; Dutchess released its most recent plan in 2023.
One problem for Putnam is a lack of data to determine how much waste, and of what type, each municipality generates. The plan blames this on "inconsistent reporting by private haulers" during the annual permit application and renewal process and "variations in recordkeeping" by its towns and villages.
The data gap means the county can't track waste disposal and recycling rates within each town and village. The plan recommends clearer guidelines and increased oversight. But it stops short of recommending a "flow control" system, which would allow the county to dictate to each municipality where waste must be delivered, because "Putnam County is a home-rule county, so each municipality has the authority to district as they see fit."

The plan says 78,822 tons of municipal solid waste were generated in Putnam County in 2024, compared to 71,641 tons in 2010, even as the population shrank from 99,644 to 96,870. In addition, 11,083 tons of waste were recycled and composted, compared to 4,839 tons in 2010.
Putnam doesn't have any active landfills; some of its waste is hauled to western New York and Ohio. The incinerator in Peekskill burned 54,000 tons of Putnam waste in 2024, and one in Poughkeepsie burned 2,500 tons. The plan notes that a Putnam landfill is not feasible due to cost and watersheds. It said it doesn't know how much local waste is going to landfills because it's dropped at transfer stations outside Putnam and mixed with waste from other counties.

In its previous plan, released in 2010, Putnam urged the Legislature to adopt the pay-as-you-throw program that "treats waste disposal like a utility service, where users pay proportionally to their usage. Households that produce less waste pay less, while those generating more pay higher fees. This pricing model provides a direct financial incentive to reduce, reuse and recycle, leading to decreased landfill use and increased participation in diversion programs."
The updated plan moves away from that recommendation, saying that research and outreach demonstrated that such a system was "not feasible" for most towns.
Organics make up 25 percent to 30 percent of the county's waste stream. While several municipalities encourage backyard composting and food scrap drop-off, Putnam does not have its own composting facility. The plan recommends a feasibility study to determine if, and where, one could be built.
The plan also recommends a pilot curbside collection program for compostable materials. In the meantime, compostable materials deposited at drop-off sites are composted at Sustainable Materials Management in Cortlandt Manor and turned into soil amendments that can be bought locally. (In Philipstown, food scraps can be dropped on Saturday mornings at the former landfill on Lane Gate Road.)
The draft plan can be viewed online here, or copies are available at the Philipstown Town Hall, Cold Spring Village Hall, Butterfield Library in Cold Spring and Desmond-Fish library in Garrison. Comments are being accepted at bit.ly/PutnamSWMP or by leaving a voicemail at 845-808-1390, ext. 43164.

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