Public Hearing Set On Amendments to Enfield Solid Waste Ordinance

ENFIELD, CT — Proposed amendments to the town's solid waste and recycling ordinance will be the subject of an Oct. 5 public hearing by the Enfield Town Council.

Among the changes being proposed is alteration of the policies regarding solid waste, recyclables, leaves and yard waste, which must be kept separate and cannot be commingled.

Municipal Solid Waste

• One 96-gallon gray tipper barrel will be collected per week at no charge. Refuse bags or other items outside the tipper barrels will not be collected. A maximum of up to three additional 96-gallon gray tipper barrels, per residence, will be available at a fee to be established by the Director. Tipper barrel tags shall be purchased annually at a fee to be established by the Director for those residences with additional gray tipper barrels. No more than a total of four gray tipper barrels per residence shall be collected per week. The cost for an additional tipper barrel excludes the cost of the tag.

Recyclables

• One 96-gallon blue tipper barrel per week will be collected at no charge. Subject to approval by the Director, a maximum of up to three additional 96-gallon blue tipper barrels, per residence, will be available, at no additional charge. No more than a total of four blue tipper barrels per residence shall be collected.

Yard Waste

• Up to two 96-gallon brown tipper barrels will be collected per week at no charge. Two additional 96-gallon brown tipper barrels, per residence, will be available for a fee to be established by the Director. Tipper barrel tags shall be purchased annually at a fee to be determined by the Director for those residences with a third or fourth brown tipper barrel. No more than a total of four brown tipper barrels will be collected per week. The cost for an additional tipper barrel excludes the cost of the tag. Yard waste collection shall be seasonal on a schedule to be determined by the Director. In the spring, on dates to be determined by the Director, up to three brown tipper barrels will be collected per week for no additional fee. Residential yard waste brought to the town’s Transfer Station must be weighed.

Leaf Waste

• The Director will establish the leaf waste collection schedule, usually in the fourth quarter of the calendar year. During scheduled leaf collection up to 40 bio-degradable leaf bags and unlimited 96-gallon brown tipper barrels will be collected per collection day. Condominiums, planned residential developments and senior residential developments are excluded from this collection. During leaf collection season residents may bring their leaf waste to the town’s Transfer Station without weighing.

Recycling, and penalties for failure to recycle, is another area addressed by the proposal.

Failure to Recycle

• Any collector who has reason to believe that a person from whom he collects solid waste has commingled recyclable items with such solid waste in violation of [the above policy] shall promptly notify the Director of the alleged violation. Upon the request of the Director, a collector shall provide a written warning, by tag or other means, to any person suspected by the collector or the Director of violating separation requirements. A collector shall also assist the Director to identify any person responsible for creating loads containing significant quantities of recyclable items mixed with solid waste or yard waste which are delivered to a resource’s recovery facility or solid waste facility by the collector and detected by the owner or operator of such facility.

The complete 12-page document may be viewed here.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, public speaking will only be accepted by written testimony. Electors or taxpayers may submit written testimony stating name and address to PHComments@enfield.org by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30.

To register for free Enfield news alerts and more, click here.