Albany and Saratoga counties plan to build a $45 million biosolid waste facility, which leaders say will save money and reduce carbon emissions that contribute to global warming.

The facility is to recycle biosolids, sewer sludge, and food waste into methane gas that can, in turn, produce energy.

The plan was announced at a press conference in Albany Wednesday morning. The facility, which is to be jointly owned and operated by the two counties, is to be built in Menands in Albany County and is to generate energy for part of its own use.

Total costs are estimated at $45 million and leaders say each county would save more than $20 million over the next 20 years through the shared facility. After 20 years, it is anticipated that the new facility will generate revenue for both counties.

Currently, Albany County uses two facilities and spends a total of about $2.2 million each year on biosolids while Saratoga County spends about $2 million each year to haul waste from its facility, which is unsustainable in the long run. The agreement is to save Saratoga County money that would have been spent constructing its own facility to manage this waste processing.

Albany County’s north and south plants serve what used to be called the county’s sewer district and is now called its water-purification district, said Mary Rozak, spokeswoman for the Albany County Executive’s Office.

“The water is filtered out, and the waste is formed into cakes which are put in an incinerator,” said Rozak. “After that, they go to a landfill.”

The Rapp Road landfill, which is owned by the city of Albany, is reaching capacity but, Rozak said, while the new facility will produce less solid waste, it won't reduce waste by a huge amount.

Timothy Murphy, the executive director of Albany County’s water purification district, told The Enterprise that typically 30 percent of waste that goes into a landfill is thought to be organic. “You can remove that out, “ he said of food waste, grease, oil, and fat typically discarded by restaurants, hotels, and other large facilities.

“Rather than dumping it in the garbage, you treat it with anaerobic digestion,” said Murphy. The digesters will be added to the current plant in Menands, the site of the new facility. The county’s other plant, at the Port of Albany, will continue to function, he said.

“It will be three years before the digesters are up and running,” Murphy said.

The project is expected to reduce significant amounts of carbon emissions and allow for the solids to be classified as a “Class B Solid” by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which can make them eligible for land application, instead of being directed for a landfill.

Final construction costs and timelines are to be determined through the bidding process. The target release date for design request for proposals is June 2018, and this phase is anticipated to take one year.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority provided half of the funding for the initial feasibility study, which determined that facility could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and benefit both counties.

Andrew Joyce, chairman of the Albany County Legislature, said in a release from the county executive’s office that the legislature has been collaborating for several months with Saratoga County to build the facility, which he said would be the first of its kind in the Capital Region.

“This regional green project will not only update wastewater treatment capabilities, but it will help divert food waste and other organic materials from the landfills within these counties and the greater capital district region,” said Stephen J. Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties, in the release. “This is important because it will also generate renewable electricity while reducing fugitive methane emissions.