Referred to: The Energy, Environment and Sustainability Committee (Chairwoman Greene and Legislators Hansut, Levine, Maloney, and Stewart), The Public Works, Capital Projects and Transportation Committee (Chairwoman Petit and Legislators Erner, Fabiano, Litts, and Nolan), and The Ways and Means Committee (Chairman Gavaris and Legislators Cahill, Criswell, Roberts, and Ronk)

Legislator Phil Erner offers the following:

WHEREAS, public places require accommodating people’s bodily functions; and

WHEREAS, sanitation is a necessary social function; and

WHEREAS,toilets at County facilities consume many gallons of (fresh)water every year; require kilowatt-hours of electricity to operate; send organic matter into an energy and resource intensive waste-recovery process; and require extensive maintenance; and

WHEREAS,composting is a longstanding, sustainable way to manage organic waste, conserving energy and materials alike, and necessary for healthful ecosystems and human needs like food production; and

WHEREAS, composting toilets already exist in public places in Ulster County; and

WHEREAS,homes, workplaces, farms, community organizations and municipalities around the County, as well as Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (UCRRA), do food-scrap recovery and/or composting; and

WHEREAS, to bring about a healthy sustainable future the Legislature wishes to move away from conventional toilets toward composting toilets; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Department of Public Works, and other county departments as the County Executive may direct, shall plan to replace all conventional toilets with composting toilets, beginning with and prioritizing those at outdoor, public facilities; and, be it further

RESOLVED, that the Ulster County Legislature shall obtain an annual report submitted on or before March 1 of each year detailing the progress of such efforts until they are complete,

and move its adoption.

ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES:                       NOES:      

Passed Committee: Energy, Environment and Sustainability on ____________. 

Passed Committee: Public Works, Capital Projects and Transportation on ____________. 

Passed Committee: Ways and Means on ____________. 

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

TBD