FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2024
Kingston Receives Climate Smart Grant for Organics Program
KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble is pleased to announce that the City of Kingston has received $538,409 from the New York State’s Climate Smart Communities grant program.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced that more than $7.3 million in grants have been awarded to municipalities across the state through the Climate Smart Communities grant program for projects that will advance greenhouse emission reductions. With the funding, the City of Kingston’s Sustainability team, along with the Department of Public Works, will continue to implement the Kingston Organics program to reduce solid waste and utilize food scraps for composting.
“We are excited to receive these funds and thank Governor Hochul and the Climate Smart Communities program for seeing the importance of reducing greenhouse emissions on the state and local level,” said Mayor Noble. “Our team will continue to build an Organics program that best suits the needs of Kingston residents who wish to reduce their solid waste through composting.”
Launched in July 2023, the Kingston Organics Diversion Program has significantly reduced the amount of food waste sent to the landfill. As of July 22, a total of 1,035 participants, representing 473 households, have participated, diverting 33.65 tons of food waste from the Seneca Meadows Landfill. The waste is picked up at 11 locations in the city by the Department of Public Works and delivered to the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, where it is processed into compost and sold locally. The program is not only saving the city money—it costs $20 per ton to dispose of the food scraps, compared with $115 per ton to dispose of solid waste—but also reducing carbon emissions resulting from fewer truck trips to the Seneca Meadows Landfill, which is located 235 miles away. And the program is completely sustainable, transforming a waste product into compost, which, among other beneficial uses, is used by gardeners to add nutriments to the soil.
Established in 2016, the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Climate Smart Communities (CSC) grant program supports municipalities seeking to implement climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation projects, as well as undertake certain actions toward becoming certified Climate Smart Communities. The grant program for municipal climate action supports the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act), which requires New York to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Since the program’s inception, DEC has awarded more than $69 million to municipalities in support of local climate mitigation and adaptation projects. More information about the grant program can be found here.
Link to Governor Hochul’s full announcement here: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-more-73-million-climate-smart-communities-projects.
More about the Kingston Organics program, including free registration for City of Kingston residents, can be found at https://engagekingston.com/kingston-organics.