HARTFORD, Conn. — Politicians and public officials are talking trash, and this time it’s about the kind you throw away.
Connecticut has a big trash problem. Usually, you bring your can to the curb and never think about it again. But it doesn’t just disappear to some magic island. Here in Connecticut, a lot of your trash gets shipped out of state.
For more than a decade the MIRA trash-to-energy plant in Hartford’s South Meadows burned a third of the state’s waste.
“It represented the leading edge of technology. It was the environmentally responsible way to dispose of trash. Over the last decade or so this facility has become increasingly obsolete,” said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.
So in July, it closed for good.
“It now presents us with a challenge and an opportunity,” remarked Katie Dykes, the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The challenge is to figure out what to do with the trash. The opportunity is in reducing the waste stream.
“It’s our job to figure out in a responsible way what comes next,” said Gov. Ned Lamont.
Right now, because all of Connecticut’s landfills are full, the state hauls 860-thousand tons of waste each year to Pennsylvania.
Jennifer Jones of the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority said, “We can do better than just incinerating our waste and burning it in out-of-state landfills.”
So the new plan is to incentivize municipalities to join regional waste authorities and to reduce the waste stream by 40% by charging private companies fees based on how environmentally friendly their packaging is.
“Everything from those Amazon boxes you are familiar with for the holidays to other forms of packaging,” said Dykes.
The state also wants to separate out food waste, diverting it to large machines called digesters.
“Which eliminates food waste by turning organic scrap material into renewable sources of energy,” explained Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim.
It’s an ambitious, 10-year waste plan that won’t happen without public and legislative approval.
State Rep. Joe Gresko of Stratford remarked, “Look, there is no magic place for your garbage to go. When we put it out on the curb we know it’s somebody else’s problem, but it’s going somewhere.”
As for the MIRA facility, before it burned trash, it burned coal. The state also wants to clean this site up and redevelop it. So they’re calling on MIRA to use their remaining money on environmental repairs.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.