October 2025
UCRRA Expands Composting Capacity and Will Begin Recycling Mattresses
Press Release by Marc Rider, UCRRA Executive Director
In August, UCRRA received a permit modification from the DEC which will allow the Agency to receive an additional 2500 tons of source separated food waste and to recycle mattresses.
Kingston, NY — The Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (UCRRA) announced today that it received a permit modification from the DEC that will allow it to receive an additional 2,500 tons of food waste and will begin recycling mattresses.
Prior to this modification the Agency was allowed to receive 5,000 tons of source separated food waste. In 2024, the Agency had to turn food waste away beginning in October because it was approaching its permitted capacity. Those 5,000 tons of food waste are processed at the Agency’s Town of Ulster Transfer Station into approximately 3,500 tons of compost. Each year the Agency has times when it is almost completely sold out of compost. The additional 2,500 tons of food waste will add approximately 1500 tons of compost to our operations, which will assist us with keeping with the public’s demand for high quality compost.
Photo: a load of food scraps is delivered to the UCRRA by the City of Kingston (Kingston Organics Program).
Over the years, the Agency has considered various options for disposing of mattresses. This modification allows the Agency to separate and divert mattresses away from landfills. At a time when NY State landfill capacity is shrinking, any efforts to divert waste are crucial to ensuring there will be a place for unrecoverable waste to go for decades to come. In the last year, the Agency has sought quotes for mattress recycling services and has selected Renewable Recyclables out of Long Island to receive and recycle our mattresses. This program will begin at our Flatbush Road facility in January of 2026. The Agency is focused on maximizing the diversion of waste that has value out of landfills, and these two projects are important steps to meeting our mission of sustainable materials management. Learn more about Renewable Recyclables on their website linked here.
