<B>N.Y. County Approves MRF</B>

The Otsego County, N.Y., board of representatives resolved to build a $707,000 materials recycling facility to be housed in the Oneonta Transfer Station.

The MRF would be operated by RRT-Andela, and most of the equipment would be built by Andela Tool and Machine Inc. of Richfield, N.Yl.

The resolution sets conditions that must be met before the MRF can be built. One is that county must be able to secure funding for capital costs. A second condition is that the Montgomery-Otsego-Schoharie Solid Waste Management Authority, which owns the Oneonta Transfer Station, must agree to lease sufficient space there to house the MRF.

If these conditions are met, the MRF can be built within six months, according to Cynthia Andela of Andela Tool and Machine Inc.

The construction of the MRF also would be advantageous considering the rural county does not have any other recycling facility. At the present time the county has to transport recyclables to a facility outside the county, resulting in higher costs to process the material.

According to the project, the county would pay a fixed cost to RRT-Andela to operate the facility and then split the proceeds from the sale of the recyclables. The county would receive 80 percent of the proceeds, while RRT-Andela would receive 20 percent.

Some representatives worried that MOSA might agree to lease the Oneonta Transfer Station for a certain price, then increase that price once the MRF is situated in there, but Otsego County Attorney James Konstanty assured them he would safeguard the county in any contract with MOSA, according to Cooperstown News Bureau.

According to Andela, the MRF would process around 4,000 tons of recyclables a year. The MRF also would have the opportunity to take in recyclables from surrounding counties.