by Lynne Jackson

ALBANY: The City of Albany has announced the closure of the Albany Landfill and is asking for proposals to build a transfer station.

The deadline for public comment on the City’s RFP — Request for Proposal — is July 12., 2024. See: https://dec.ny.gov/news/environmental-notice-bulletin/2024-04-17/public-notice/city-of-albany-request-for-public-comments-to-draft-request-for-proposal

In the draft RPF itself, there is not a single mention of the Pine Bush. The RFP indicates that a transfer station may be sited next to the landfill in the Pine Bush on Rapp Rd. People can send comments about the draft RFP to Joe Giebelhausv by email to jgiebelhaus@albanyny.gov

The City of Albany needs a good, sustainable method to dispose of municipal solid waste. Composting food scraps and re-using un-wanted items are not emphasized in the draft RFP.

People throw out good, usable items. There is a great volunteer FaceBook group in Albany called Buy Nothing. The Buy Nothing group allows members to freely give and receive unwanted items, saving many things from the landfill. A program like this, where good, useful items are saved from the landfill would benefit everyone. In addition, everyone in the City should be able to have their food scraps composted.

So much can be done to make disposal of municipal waste more sustainable, I hope people will get involved with the issue of closing the City of Albany’s landfill.