Hingham Landfill Site to be Finally Capped

The Board of Selectmen approved the final stage of the closure of the disused Landfill adjacent to the Hingham Transfer Facility on Tuesday night.

At Tuesday's meeting, selectmen signed a $1.7 million contract for capping of the final section of the landfill.The main issue with the closure of the site has been funding with the landfill itself being non-compliant with state regulations.

Phase two of this long-standing project will now begin with the open section of the landfill being capped by a high density plastic sheet, which will then be vented and seeded to leave the impression of a “landfill that looks like a big, grassy hill.”

After four bids were received from competing contractors, the decision was made to award the contract to E.T & L Corp, which is based in the town of Stow.   E.T & L Corp, will begin work as soon as possible with the intent to finish the project by the end of October.

There will now be an increase in truck activity in the area as there are thousands of tonnes of landfill to be covered and it is hoped that there will be minimal disruption to the Transfer Facility itself.

On Tuesday, the Selectmen also approved a contract not exceeding $75,000 to be awarded to Polaris Consultants of Quincy who will provide the independent testing required by the Department of Environmental Protection to ensure that the capping is completed correctly and to the specifications required by the State. 

Hingham Town Engineer Roger Fernandes was confident that the project can be completed with the available funds.

“We don’t want to enter into a contract that exceeds the available funding but we don’t anticipate coming back for any more money,” Fernandes said.