Municipal staff
Planners, DPW, zero-waste committees deciding whether this site fits your jurisdiction.
Book a fit call
Proposals
Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency
A county-level resource recovery authority with line of sight to Esopus Creek, Esopus Meadows Preserve, and Tivoli South Bay — the governance-model case study for how an RRA becomes a pilot sponsor.
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
UCRRA is the governance-model proposal. The authority already handles Ulster County's waste flows under a public mandate, which means a pilot here isn't picking a private operator — it's asking a public body to host a circular system on its own campus. For granting agencies and municipal peers, that's the fastest replicable pattern in the ten.
On the matrix: municipal coordination is the headline green (the authority's existing charter carries the stakeholder legitimacy that other archetypes have to negotiate into place); feedstock variation is moderate with an upside — Esopus Creek and Tivoli South Bay open the aquatic invasive biomass feedstock that Taylor-Montgomery also surfaces. Space for circular expansion is green on the RRA campus.
For coverage, UCRRA anchors mid-Ulster and sits 25 miles north of the Dutchess RRA proposal — the two authorities together demonstrate that the county-RRA governance model can be replicated along the river, which is the outcome the methodology is built for.
System diagram
Tip: open this in a new tab to zoom, then use it in meetings as a shared reference.
Governance advantage: Authorities can coordinate multi-municipality flows and contracts. That’s
powerful—because circular systems often fail at the seams between jurisdictions, not at the technology.
Biosolids flow snapshot
This 2015 snapshot shows how Ulster’s biosolids moved across landfill, land application, storage, and hauling lanes. 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 Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency.
We'll confirm the right lane — advisory, pilot, partnership — and pinpoint the fastest next artifact to ship together.