Following Our Trash Downstream

By Linda Childs

Recycling takes on new meaning when one dives deeper into the dumpster. Local curiosity about recyclable plastic collection uncovered a world of “resource recovery” in Connecticut. Norfolk is one of the towns participating in the Mid-Connecticut Project, a program of the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA). Like residents of Winsted, Barkhamsted and New Hartford which are part of Regional Refuse District One, we have a local transfer station that accepts both trash and recyclables. For an annual per vehicle fee of $35, Norfolk residents can bring household refuse to the East Greenwoods Road facility. Number 1 and number 2 plastics, glass and metal containers are deposited in one bin, paper and cardboard in another and almost everything else in a third. Plastics numbered higher than number 2 are not accepted for recycling. A brochure with specifics, including hours of operation, is available at Town Hall. Norfolkians who prefer other than this do-it-yourself system may contract with one of many trash hauling companies for curbside pickup. In nearby Colebrook, trash pick-up is negotiated directly with the town and the fee is included in local taxes. Residents are provided with trash containers and recycling bins, but no one is asked to distinguish among plastics numbered 1 through 7. According to Steve Stevelee at USA Hauling, when their trucks pick up in Colebrook, Goshen and Torrington, everything but paper products are emptied into the truck and the separation of plastics takes place at the Hartford CCRA transfer station. Here, conveyor belts carry recyclables through powerful air-blowers which separate the lighter-weight number 1 and 2 plastics. Further down the line, individual workers hand-sort the plastic containers that remain. At the end of the line, once paper, glass, plastic, steel and aluminum are completely sorted and compacted they are shipped to buyers which process them into new materials. Of the plastics, only those numbered 1 and 2 are recycled. Last year alone the statewide yield in recyclable material was 130,000 tons! This is both cost-saving and land-fill-sparing. The renewable story does not end there. At CRRA’s “Trash to Energy” facility in Hartford, remaining combustible materials (including those high BTU-content number 3-7 plastics) are shredded and burned to remove water and create steam. This process reduces the original garbage volume by 80-90 percent. The ash residue is deposited into a specially engineered double-lined landfill. The steam powers a turbine which generates 630 million kilowatts of electricity each year. According to the CRRA website, four trash-to-energy plants in Connecticut “produce enough energy to provide for all the electrical needs of about 170,000 homes.” According to Norfolk’s Transfer Station manager, Tom Clark, there are more refinements proposed. By the end of the year, in an effort to further improve recycling rates, the Hartford facility will make “single-stream” recycling available to all the towns it serves. This means that Norfolk residents will be able to dispose of all recyclables together. Cardboard and paper will be automatically separated from containers later. If individual households, towns and haulers find the present system more convenient or cost-effective they will be able to continue deliveries of separate paper and containers to the plant after conversion. For more fascinating information on our trash, a trip to one of Connecticut’s garbage museums is recommended. CCRA funds a Visitors Center and Trash Museum in Hartford and The Children’s Garbage Museum in Stratford.