A new program is saving towns around Warren County big money when it comes to their trash and recyclables.
2025 was the first year during which Warren County and towns in the county have collaborated for trash-and-recycling hauling, which has saved taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in hauling fees.
Earlier this year, Warren County assumed responsibility for the hauling of solid waste and recyclables from community transfer stations to the WIN Waste Innovations incinerator in Hudson Falls and a recycling facility in Washington County.
The county’s trucks and drivers replaced for-profit private haulers that charged the towns individually to take away their refuse and recyclables.
The arrangement has benefited the towns substantially in just the first year, saving between $175,000 and $200,000 countywide, noted Scott Royael, Warren County Solid Waste and Recycling Compliance Coordinator.
“Through our program, we can charge about half the rate the private haulers were charging,” Royael said.
All towns in the county other than Lake George opted in to the arrangement. The county vehicle hauling runs peaked in July with an average of 164 trips to and from transfer stations around the county during the busy summer tourism season.
“Our goal is for the county to break even and save money for the towns to provide this service for residents,” Royael explained.
The program was developed in 2024 under the direction of Warren County Department of Public Works and the Warren County Board of Supervisors, and began service in January 2025.
Royael said one of the benefits to the program has been getting accurate data about the amount of materials being collected at town transfer stations, and being able to compare municipalities and the processes they use. That has provided opportunities to work with transfer station staff to make their operations more efficient and maximize trips to transfer stations.
The savings have been significant in the first year alone.
In 2024, the town of Hague was paying over $700 per trip to haul trash from its transfer station, and this year the average cost through the Warren County program is about $300, Royael explained.
“In the Town of Bolton, we aren’t spending nearly what we were spending in 2024. We have paid about half of what we paid in 2024,” explained Bolton Town Supervisor Ron Conover.
The program got a boost from New York State in August. Warren County Planning Department applied for and received a $450,000 grant from New York State to improve the program with the purchase of a new, more efficient truck for hauling, and for the hiring of an additional staff member.
DPW hopes to have the additional truck by January 2026, and it will replace one on its last legs that is currently being used for recyclable hauling, for three waste program vehicles in total.
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