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Would you take the bet that we’re on the verge of a circular economy in the Capital Region, where consumption occurs in a repeating repair/re-use loop rather than in a linear progression of make, use, dispose?
That’s the idea behind an interactive analysis just posted online by the Capital District Regional Planning Commission in aid of an effort by the nonprofit Zero Waste Capital District and the Town of Bethlehem to explore creation of a “re-use center” to capture reusable waste.
The analysis takes a look at waste in the region (the bulk of it business and residential municipal solid waste and the building industry’s construction and demolition debris), how it currently is handled, and how it might better be handled if we did more repair/re-use and less toss-it-into-a-landfill-when-done.
These days, fewer landfills are available anyway – the granddaddy Rapp Road Landfill in Albany, established in the late 1960s, is due to close in 2027. Others have been capped over the years, replaced with “transfer stations” that collect waste and recyclables that are shipped out for processing and disposal elsewhere.
With a circular economy, though, waste “is repurposed as a resource, promoting local economic development and community resilience,” according to the analysis. It’s putting the adage “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” to work by salvaging items that can be reused: clothing, furniture, doors and windows, lumber, electronics – the list is endless.
Once rescued, the materials can be offered again for sale at a re-use center. The oft-cited Finger Lakes ReUse in Ithaca, established in 2008 to reduce waste in Tompkins County and now with two locations, rang up more than $8.6 million in sales between 2018 and 2022, according to a study conducted as a class project at Cornell University. That revenue generated $346,000 in county sales taxes and diverted nearly 10 million pounds of waste that would have been landfilled.
The analysis undertaken for Zero Waste suggests three “high impact” and five “medium impact” areas locally that could support a 20,000-square-foot re-use center, given highway and bus line infrastructure and proximity to municipal transfer stations, existing thrift stores/construction-material outlets, and populations of likely donors and recipients.
The three are identified as downtown Schenectady; in Albany near Fuller Road and Railroad Avenue; and in Latham near Troy-Schenectady and Delatour roads. The five secondary areas are in Clifton Park, Glenville, Colonie, Guilderland and Troy.
Mark Castiglione, executive director of the Regional Planning Commission, said the impact areas were developed to give Zero Waste locations “to begin engagement efforts.”
“Re-use is not a novel concept in the Capital Region,” he said, noting various organizations “are already dedicated to reducing the unnecessary disposal of used goods.”
So, in addition to assisting Zero Waste, the analysis might help others interested in re-use to find partners in like-minded organizations, businesses and municipalities.
“We hope this research will inspire others to take action and use this information to foster further collaboration,” he said.
Marlene Kennedy is a freelance columnist. Opinions expressed in her column are her own and not necessarily the newspaper’s. Reach her at marlenejkennedy@gmail.com.
