Municipal staff
Planners, DPW, zero-waste committees deciding whether this site fits your jurisdiction.
Book a fit call
Proposals
Delaware County Solid Waste Management Center
A rural solid waste center with unusual compositional intelligence already published — the archetype that proves rural Catskill counties can run a circular system without urban density.
How this site was selected: Mapping layers pair feedstocks with infrastructure, the matrix approach (industrial/hauling, feedstock variation, pyrolysis, space/expansion) distills the strongest candidates, and the 25-50 mile coverage logic keeps proposals balanced. Read the methodology.
Why this site
Site-selection rationale
Delaware County is the rural proof case. The solid waste center already publishes waste composition data at three levels — average, diverted, and landfilled — plus biosolid management quantities and a compost-vs-landfill split. That visibility alone earns the slot: every other archetype has to estimate those same numbers; Delaware has them.
On the matrix: rural coordination is green (the county authority governs the stream end-to-end); feedstock variation is moderate (heavy on rural MSW, with biosolids on the compost side); space for circular expansion is green (rural acreage); industrial & hauling is watch-list (hauling distances are longer than urban archetypes).
For coverage, Delaware is the 50-mile western anchor — beyond it the Valley depopulates and circular logistics stop penciling. Including Delaware guarantees the portfolio isn't a lower-Hudson-only story, which matters for state funding that is explicitly rural-inclusive.
System diagram
Tip: open this in a new tab to zoom, then use it in meetings as a shared reference.
Center-of-gravity idea: If a region can reliably separate organics at the hub, everything downstream gets easier:
cleaner digestion/composting, better soil products, and fewer headaches in permitting and public acceptance.
Biosolids flow snapshot
This 2015 snapshot shows Delaware County's biosolids moving through landfill, land application, and hauling links. Use it to frame constraints before you size anything.
Evidence & policy context
The drivers behind this proposal
The same forces that shape HVB's mission shape the case for this site — four policy and ecological drivers, grounded in a shared county-scale data resource.
Food waste diversion
Tie this proposal into New York's 2022 organics mandate and the diversion tailwind it has created.
Read the food waste law
Climate mandates (CLCPA)
Anchor the system in the state's methane and RNG-pathway accountability framework.
View the CLCPA pathways
Environmental justice
Screen this site against community burden and build benefits into the pilot from day one.
Explore the EJ policy
Invasive biomass loops
Consider whether invasive biomass streams (water chestnut, others) can contribute feedstock to this site.
See invasive biomass pilotsWhere to start
Pick the lane that fits you.
Now that you've read the briefing, pick the path that fits your role. Each leads to a 30-minute fit call to discuss this specific site.
Granting agency
Program officers assessing portfolio fit, site-selection rigor, and replicability.
Book a fit callCommunity
Organizers, environmental groups, and residents around this site wanting a seat at the table.
Book a fit callPress & research
Journalists, educators, and researchers covering the Hudson Valley circular organics story.
Book a fit callReady to move
Book a 30-minute fit call about Delaware County Solid Waste Management Center.
We'll confirm the right lane — advisory, pilot, partnership — and pinpoint the fastest next artifact to ship together.