NARROWSBURG, NY — In light of recent Town of Tusten board meetings regarding a new camping zoning law, conversations about waste removal have come up. These conversations in part centered on the new company Tentrr and how it removes waste from camping sites.

The first thing to realize, said Tentrr founder and CEO Michael D’Agostino, is that his business is not building campsites; their business model is very different from a traditional campground. Therefore, there is not a lot of waste generated. For instance, each site has an average of 2.4 people per camping trip for an average of 2.1 days. “This produces minimal and totally manageable trash and other waste, which we require to be placed in approved garbage cans at the time of check-out from a campsite for safe disposal in a landfill,” D’Agostino said.

Tentrr says it allows individual landowners to build single, high-quality campsites on a minimum of 10 acres, which provides each site with a lot of room, without overcrowding, while allowing landowners to participate in the local economy and tourism. The River Reporter will have more about Tentrr in next week’s issue.

Members of the Tusten Town Board and other citizens expressed concerns about waste removal from the toilets, as Tentrr provides a toilet but it is the responsibility of campers to dispose of the waste. Tentrr heard those concerns, and it has come up with what it says is a simple sanitary waste solution. The toilet kits and bags are manufactured by Cleanwaste.

From the company’s website (www.cleanwaste.com): “The Cleanwaste bags are the most sanitary, safe, environmentally-friendly, portable toilet solution available... Our toilet kit is the ONLY solution that traps, encapsulates, deodorizes and breaks down waste with a NASA-developed gelling agent. Use it, seal it and toss it in normal trash.

“The toilet kits and packaging are, and always have been, disposable in normal trash. They are even required in a variety of sensitive global settings including Mt. Kilimanjaro, Machu Picchu, Mt. Whitney and other notable outdoor venues, and have also been used on Mt. Everest. The company is a proud corporate partner of the “Leave No Trace®” movement. To-date, the company has sold over 16 million toilet kits to clients in the United States and other countries.”

D’Agostino said the policy is pretty straightforward and has received a positive reception from the local municipalities. He said, “Tentrr has invested significant time and energy in developing a waste disposal protocol that is safe and effective—and we believe that our DEC-approved [Department of Environmental Conservation-approved] system satisfies any concerns.”