Transfer Station Improvements Ramp Up Today

Today the town’s Public Works Department is due to step up work on improvements that will update the town’s transfer station and, in the long run, save money, town officials said. Late last week the town roped off the main trash area and set up temporary container locations. 

Many of the improvements will be to the pad area for the trash compactors. The town will tear down the old one, build a new pad to accommodate larger containers and upgrade the electrical system as well. 

In addition, a compactor will be added for single-stream recycling.

Many of the improvements will be done by the Public Works Department. 

The two- to three-week improvements will cause some inconvenience but closing is not an option, said Public Works Director Robert Martin.

“It’s a facility that, really, we can’t close,” Martin said.

And more importantly the $12,000 project will save money in the long run, Martin said.

The town will use larger containers and add compacting to single-stream recyclables — resulting in fewer trips by the waste hauler. That will save the town money since the town pays a fee for every container that is transported to the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority facility in Hartford.

With the new system, the town will use 50-yard trash containers, rather than the current 36-yard containers. The capacity will go from roughly 8 to 9 tons to 12 to 13 per container, Martin said.

“You can put more in a larger container and spend less on the hauling fees,” Martin said. 

With recyclables, the open containers the town currently uses only hold about 2 to 3 tons, while the compactor bring capacity to roughly 7 or 8, Martin said.

“We’re expecting cost savings to pay for the renovations within the first two years,” he said.

Town documents show that new contractor AllWaste charges $240 per 50-yard container transported.

With recycling, the town can really save money, Martin added. While it pays to have recyclables transported, there are no other fees and the town receives a recycling rebate each year. And the change to single stream — which allows people to just put all recycling together, is a nice incentive, he added.

“I think people find it easier to put everything together,” Martin said. “We’re really hopeful we see an increase in our recycling.”  

The improvements are among the many initiatives that the town, Martin and the Solid Waste Transfer Study Committee are looking into. A second phase of improvements down the road should include softening the angle of the compactor ramp, Martin said.

Martin said he thanks Paines for many good years of service and is looking forward to working with AllWaste, which won a multi-year bid to haul the town’s waste.

Other changes include a new contract that will generate income for the town’s scrap metal.

In addition, the committee is looking at ways to work with the school district on recycling initiatives.