Ontario County to Present Draft Solid Waste Plan Thursday – Finger Lakes Daily News

Report on Ontario County’s Local Solid Waste Management Plan Update and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Public Consultation and Stakeholder Engagement

Ontario County has scheduled a public presentation to review its updated Local Solid Waste Management Plan (LSWMP). This initiative invites critical feedback from community stakeholders, including residents, businesses, and local institutions, reflecting a commitment to collaborative governance in line with Sustainable Development Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

• Event: Public Presentation of the Draft LSWMP
• Date: Thursday
• Time: 6:30 p.m.
• Location: 74 Ontario Street, Canandaigua

For stakeholders unable to attend, the draft plan and a digital comment portal are accessible through the county’s official website, ensuring broad public participation.

Strategic Objectives and Contribution to the 2030 Agenda

The LSWMP provides a strategic framework for the county’s solid waste management, with the updated version being critical due to the scheduled closure of the municipal landfill in 2029. The plan’s core objectives are directly aligned with several key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: The plan’s primary focus on reducing, reusing, and recycling waste directly supports Target 12.5, which aims to substantially reduce waste generation by 2030. By promoting a circular economy, the county is actively working to minimize its environmental footprint.
2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: The LSWMP is a crucial component of achieving Target 11.6, which calls for reducing the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, particularly concerning municipal waste management. The plan’s strategies for responsible disposal and waste reduction contribute to creating a more sustainable and resilient community.

Plan Background and Evolution

The current LSWMP, adopted in 2014, established 16 goals for waste management. The county is operating under a two-year extension while this comprehensive update is finalized. The new plan is designed to guide Ontario County’s transition towards more sustainable and forward-thinking waste management practices that safeguard environmental resources for future generations.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article on Ontario County’s Local Solid Waste Management Plan (LSWMP) directly addresses two Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  This goal is relevant because the article focuses on a core municipal service: solid waste management. The development of a “Local Solid Waste Management Plan” for Ontario County is a key function of creating a sustainable and resilient community infrastructure. The plan’s purpose is to manage the “county’s solid waste now and into the future,” which is essential for maintaining a healthy and safe urban/community environment, especially with the “county’s municipal landfill scheduled to close in 2029.”

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  This goal is central to the article’s theme. The LSWMP explicitly outlines “strategies for managing the county’s solid waste” that include goals for “waste reduction, recycling, and disposal.” The article highlights the plan’s aim to guide “sustainable local strategies that reduce, reuse, recycle, and responsibly dispose of waste,” which directly aligns with the principles of sustainable consumption and production patterns by minimizing waste generation and promoting a circular economy.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the information provided, the following specific SDG targets can be identified:

• Target 11.6: Reduce the adverse environmental impact of cities

  This target aims to “by 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.” The entire premise of the article—the updating of Ontario County’s “Local Solid Waste Management Plan”—is a direct action toward achieving this target. The plan is described as “crucial for guiding sustainable local strategies” for waste, directly addressing the management of municipal waste to mitigate its environmental impact.

• Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation

  This target aims to “by 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.” The article explicitly states that the LSWMP includes “16 goals for waste reduction, recycling, and disposal” and that the updated plan will guide strategies to “reduce, reuse, recycle.” This language directly mirrors the actions prescribed in Target 12.5.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article does not mention official SDG indicator codes, but it strongly implies the use of metrics that align with them:

• Implied Indicator for Target 11.6 (related to Indicator 11.6.1)

  Indicator 11.6.1 is the “Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities out of total municipal solid waste generated.” The article implies the use of this type of measurement through its discussion of a comprehensive county-wide plan. The existence of a “Local Solid Waste Management Plan” and the management of a “municipal landfill” presuppose that the county is tracking the total amount of solid waste generated and the proportion that is collected, landfilled, or otherwise managed. The plan’s effectiveness would be measured by these metrics.

• Implied Indicator for Target 12.5 (related to Indicator 12.5.1)

  Indicator 12.5.1 is the “National recycling rate, tons of material recycled.” The article’s reference to the current plan having “16 goals for waste reduction, recycling, and disposal” strongly suggests that Ontario County is already tracking its progress in these areas. To have goals for recycling and waste reduction, the county must be measuring the amount of material recycled and the reduction in total waste generated. These local metrics are the building blocks for national-level indicators like 12.5.1.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: fingerlakesdailynews.com