Cortland County has witnessed a community wide shift in priorities, through creation of individual and governmental plans to improve waste management facilities to reduce operating costs. At either of these levels, students, people and lawmakers are trying to create sustainable communities to reduce environmental impact of transporting waste to landfills by creating local waste management facilities.

A lot of this has to do with improving how food waste is managed in the Community. With community dining halls at public housing or Universities providing the food waste to process at compost facilities, and efficient energy use strategies, Cortland is slowly moving towards environmental sustainability.

Current Situation

Back in 2014, the county administration developed a solid waste management plan based on how the region was managing its waste. The beginning of the plan identified that approximately 63,000 tons of waste were produced in the county.  91.25% of the waste was sent to landfills; a large portion of which was easily recyclable.

The plan identified that 31,000 tons of material was actually recoverable and recyclable for further use. These observations spurred on the creation of anaerobic digestion plants and further initiatives to reduce the waste produced in the county.

With these facts in plain view, the entire community mobilized to implement waste management plans at different levels in the community.

Individual Efforts

Cortland traditionally was short on waste management and recycling facilities. The citizens of the county began creating backyard compost plans in collaboration with local restaurants. The increase in environmental awareness has created localized conservation plans which are proving to be very effective waste management efforts.

The State University of New York in Cortland also works in collaboration with non-profit initiatives to reduce waste management.  The Auxiliary Services Corporation, which handles the dining in the university, donates food leftovers worth up to $4000 worth of leftovers to organizations serving meals in the community

Governmental efforts

These efforts are being supplemented by efforts on the government’s part to help with waste management. Over the past few years, entire plans have been dedicated to creating sustainable communities.

The city of Cortland Downtown Revitalization Program was initiated in March 2018 with the attempt to reclaim much of the unused land around Cortland city. The plan includes special considerations for technology that can reduce the city’s environmental footprint. The administration intends to divert funds towards developing renewable energy production facilities.

In addition to this, the plan includes the creation of new waste management and recycling facilities to reduce the waste in landfills. Under a grant from NYSDEC the City is in process of implementing such facilities in near future.

Larsen Engineers is a municipal engineering firm in Rochester. The company specializes in the development of renewable energy, waste management and energy conservation facilities, among others. Get in touch with the management today for more information on their services or to hire their services for your waste management and renewable energy projects.