In this week's Times Union: A report by Albany's Solid Waste Management Planning Steering Committee suggests that a regional authority be created to handle the trash of up to 700,000 residents.

The Rapp Road LandfillCurrently, Albany's Rapp Road Landfill takes trash from an estimated 220,000 people, including both Albany residents and those of several nearby towns. For an authority to successfully operate, it would need a guaranteed supply of trash. This "flow control" could be provided by changes to local laws to require disposal in a specific facility.

The planning committee was created because Albany requested an expansion of the Rapp Road Landfill for the fourth time.  The Department of Environmental Conservation demanded that the city start planning a long-term strategy. DEC also approved the expansion, which will extend capacity through 2016 if dumping continues at its current pace.

The committee's report suggested that a so-far-undefined facility recover "energy and byproducts from waste" and that a facility be created to separate organic waste so it does not go into a landfill.