Zero Waste Is Good For Windam.
Policy Note: May 1st, 2025
Zero Waste? It is a term that has a paradoxical nature since all activities produce waste. No one usually consumes the coffee grinds of their morning Java or the rind of their breakfast Grapefruit. And yet, these materials, if handled correctly, can be considered products of future production in the form of Compost. Composting might be one of the best ways for this community to reduce its landfill waste and create a long-term local revenue stream for community members.
I have a few ideas to create a program in Windham that increases composting in the community while making composting a vital revenue stream. The Town of Bethlehem, NY, has a composting program that offers reasonable rates to commercial and residential users of the facility. These types of projects also projects are fall under New York’s DEC program of “Food Scraps Recycling”; this program, in conjunction with other “waste reduction grants,” could easily be obtained to help start this project. In 2022, Greene County Solid Waste launched a program called “Help Greene Grow Green” that promoted composting on the individual level–this initiative could be coupled with a larger local movement that seeks to do this on the community or even regional level (the Entire Mountain Top) eventually.
How do we incentivize this project? The primary way I think we can incentivize this project is by creating a Composting Bin that the town sells to the customer for a one-time small fee ( $75, perhaps). This bin is then filled with all the lawn and table scraps from the home or business. Each week or month, depending on the customers’ demands, it is picked up by the town and brought to the composting site. This service is completed for free. The incentive is that as you separate more of your waste food scraps, lawn waste, and forest waste, your potential costs at the Solid Waste Transfer Station are reduced. In turn, the town of Windham has created a supply of topsoil it can sell to residential and commercial customers at low costs while still making a profit.
Furthermore, this project is perfect for the creation of Community Gardens– these activities build community and can provide needed sustenance for the less well off in our community or other communities in the region. The
Finally, this project can create real long-term employment in our community with local labor resources. This is on top of producing positive impacts in reducing the community’s waste and creating a viable commodity.
The Check List:
Low initial Costs to start- Yes
Possible Grant Funding — Yes (ends November 2027)
Provides A Positive Revenue Stream To The Town— Yes
Creates Local Employment— Yes
Scalable Design Of The Program That Allows Increases Scope And Size As Required— Yes
Can be Instituted By The Town Almost Immediately in 2026- Yes
We Can Do This … And Best Of All, It Can Be A Good Thing For Our Community And Our Future!
Connor R. Exum Candidate
The Bull Moose Party of Windham
May 3rd Meeting Is Cancelled. Scheduling Issue.