Should a city accept any business in the interest of jobs and revenue during tough economic times? Beacon is examining that question in the midst of considering a proposal for a 66,000-square-foot regional recycling plant by Hudson Baylor Corp. for the far eastern edge of the city line along Route 52.
The former home of the Brewster Cement Factory will potentially be transformed into a “tipping station,” which will receive recycled materials from as far away as western Connecticut and near Albany. The material would be moved in heavy trucks, up to 22 per hour (44 round trip), during peak midday hours.
That has raised fears among some residents about traffic impact, noise and pollution from the approximately 70,000 tons of recyclable material to be transported and processed at the facility.
But Beacon Mayor Steve Gold said that the plant would benefit the city with jobs and tax revenue, as well as bringing a sustainable and progressive green company to the area.
He said city officials have visited four other Hudson Baylor facilities and found there are no problems with odors or escaped trash. And he said that traffic from the trucks should not cause problems because the main route in and out of the facility will be Interstate 84.
Newburgh-based Hudson Baylor was founded in 1983 in the wake of New York”™s enacting the Bottle Bill, which required return of beverage containers for a nickel deposit. It has expanded since that point and is now a nationwide operator of materials recovery facilities, primarily in New York and Arizona, with about $44 million in annual revenue, and has been particularly successful in the last three years, where the company reports a 27 percent growth rate.
Hudson Baylor operates 12 locations in the Northeast and the Southwest as an independent recycling processing operator. It has multiple types of recycling facilities, including single stream, dual stream, bottle law and transfer facilities. Hudson Baylor also partners with municipalities to divert material from the landfill by receiving, processing and marketing curbside recyclable materials.
In September, the company was ranked 4,199 on Inc. magazine”™s ranking of the nation”™s 5,000 fastest growing companies and was 63rd in the environmental sector category.
Though supported by Gold, the company still has to await action on a motion to remove a restriction that prohibits recycling plants in the industrial zone where Hudson Baylor hopes to build. If that ban were lifted, the Beacon Planning Board would consider site-plan approval.
The motion was scheduled to be considered Oct. 18 but was tabled. No future date for considering it was provided by city officials.
