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Jennifer Almquist
Efforts are underway throughout Connecticut to increase community composting and reduce food waste.
For years, most towns in Connecticut have been concerned with the waste stream, yet despite some support from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), and Governor Ned Lamont, the state legislature continues to deny applications for funding. DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said, “We need to reduce waste overall, and reducing food waste by learning how to better manage food in our homes.”
According to Project Drawdown, a leading global resource for climate solutions, “the reversal of global warming is both environmentally and economically achievable by mid-century if we act now and scale up already practical climate solutions like composting.” In its list of the most effective solutions to “draw down” or reverse the build-up of carbon in the atmosphere, reducing food waste ranks within the top three solutions. Composting organic waste, versus landfilling it, can reduce more than 50% of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions for a total of 2.1 gigatons between now and 2050.
Pilot programs for food-waste collection and composting are helping towns make some headway. Todd Arcelaschi, the mayor of Winchester, is also the administrator of the Regional Refuse Disposal District No. 1. On a recent blustery day, he gave a tour of the food scrap recycling pilot program that began Jan. 15, 2024.
Located at the Transfer Station that serves Barkhamsted, New Hartford, and Winchester, the program is free to all town residents with transfer station passes. New Hartford resident, Liza Bocchichio, emptied the kitchen scraps produced by her family of four into the blue and yellow bins and said they are very happy with the program. Residents separate their food scraps from normal waste, place them in compostable bags, and deposit them in special bins provided by a Hartford firm, Blue Earth, which then hauls them to Quantum Biopower, a DEEP approved anaerobic digester in Southington. In 21 days, Quantum converts food scraps into compost, and turns the methane by-product inside the facility into biogas that generates electricity for Southington.
Their weekly pickup from the Barkhamsted site was over 1,200 pounds of waste that was not going to the landfill. Arcelaschi said, “Compost improves soil quality, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, retains water in our soil, and reduces soil erosion. The CT DEEP states that 22% of the waste stream is food.”
Jennifer Heaton-Jones, Executive Director of the Housatonic Resource Recovery Authority (HRRA) in Brookfield, created the first Connecticut curbside pick-up food waste program in Bridgewater in 2014. HRRA now has nine drop-off locations with the goal of having programs in all 14 member towns. She said that perseverance and patience are the most important ingredients for success.
Heaton-Jones applied for and received USDA grants for her latest efforts, which include Connecticut’s first municipal solar-powered Aerated Static Pile (ASP) composting site located in Ridgefield. The solar array powers a pump that aerates the pile of food waste and shredded leaves. She stated, “the goal of this project is to create a self-sustaining closed loop composting system for transforming residential food waste into an end-product for community and agricultural use. This innovative project demonstrates that municipalities can manage food waste locally, reduce the carbon footprint of offsite disposal and contribute to the waste diversion goals of the state.”
Since its launch in 2022, the Ridgefield ASP facility has turned 43,000 pounds of food into 60 cubic yards of compost. In Newtown, where 1,220 people participate, the pilot program reduced 184 tons of solid waste in the first 21 weeks. HRRA is in the process of building a second ASP facility that should be up and running in September.
Brian D. Bartram , Manager Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station in Lakeville and Barbara Bettigole, Chair of Transfer Station Recycling Advisory Committee. Jennifer Almquist
Brian D. Bartram is the manager of the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station. Along with Barbara Bettigole, Chair of the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station Recycling Advisory Committee, they are the driving force behind the successful Salisbury/Sharon Food Waste Collection program. Bettigole has long been an advocate for composting, especially bringing programs into schools for children to learn about composting and food waste.
According to Bettigole, getting the word out to the public, encouraging participation is key. They have created numerous information “sandwich” boards that are placed at community gathering spots. She believes “most people are curious and want to the right thing.”
Bartram manages the $5 million state-of-the-art facility where residents with transfer passes receive a countertop compost bin and a 6-gallon storage/transportation bin. Accepted items include fruit and vegetables, produce and deli items, meat and poultry (including bones), fish and shellfish (Including shells), dairy, bread and pasta, rice and grains, eggshells, nuts and seeds, leftovers, coffee grounds, cut flowers, corks, tea bags, paper towels and napkins. There is a high green metal fence surrounding the facility and, as a result, Bartram said, “we have only had one bear!” Clients must provide their own compostable bags. Lakeville resident Jen Hazard dropped her very neat, approved bag in the provided bin and expressed enthusiasm for the program.
The Salisbury/Sharon pilot program, started in 2021, now serves 400 households. Between 2021 and 2022, it diverted 18.5 tons of food scraps.
Bettigole and Bartram believe Connecticut needs a regional recycling coordinator like Massachusetts has. With the limited number of local facilities, limited route density, and transportation distances, the costs remain high. Without funding approval from the Connecticut legislature, area towns are left to their own devices seeking a combination of grants, tax dollars, and outside fundraising. Bartram just notified the community that as of Jan. 1, 2025, all organizations that generate 26 or more tons of food scraps, such as schools, restaurants, supermarkets, resorts, and hospitals, will be required by CT Public Act 23-170 to separate and recycle all food scraps at an authorized organic material composting facility.
Other Northwest Corner towns have taken different approaches to achieve composting programs. The Lakeville Journal polled municipal leaders for comment.
Kent First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer responded, “Currently Kent has a composting agreement with the Housatonic Resource Recovery Authority to collect our organic food waste and bring it to a composting site in New Milford. Kent does not have the capacity to develop a composting capability, due in part to the small amount of compost material the Town collects because this year we are conducting a pilot program for collecting food waste, so it is voluntary and not mandatory.”
Jay Hubelbank, Selectman from Washington answered, “At this time we are collecting food waste from residents at our Transfer Station. We have the food waste picked up and delivered to a company in New Milford who composts it. We pay for the transportation and the weight of the load. Last year we collected 7.5 tons”
Greg LaCava, First Selectman in Warren stated, “Warren has had a composting program in effect for 3 years now, instituted when I took office. Warren doesn’t have a transfer station, therefore we allocated bins for residents to utilize. Bins have been strategically located at Town Hall and are bear proof. Residents can access these bins 24/7. We sought no federal funding — completely instituted and managed locally.”
LaCava stated the yearly environmental impact of the program resulted in 3,111 pounds of CO2 saved, and 3,547 miles of driving avoided.
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Patrick L. Sullivan
SALISBURY — A crowd of 30 or so people piled into the newly-painted Town Hall Friday, April 5 for a noontime ribbon cutting for two items of historical interest.
They were a sign from the old Farnam Tavern in Lakeville, and the Salisbury Bicentennial Quilt, which are now hanging opposite each other on the walls going up the staircase in the center of the building.
Rich Reifsnyder related how the Salisbury Association Historical Society learned that the Farnam Tavern sign was up for auction in November 2021, and after determining it was the genuine article, went ahead and bought it.
With a grant from the Anne and Rollin Bates Foundation, the sign received the attention of conservator John Lippert.
The Salisbury Association’s Sarah Morrison thanked Lippert, who was present, for fitting the relatively small project into his schedule.
Next up was how to hang the heavy sign.
That required the expertise of blacksmith Will Trowbridge of Sharon, who designed and created the hanging hardware for the sign and for the quilt.
Also involved: First Selectman Curtis Rand and Building Inspector Michael Carbone for providing the space and determining it was structurally sound and Kevin Wiggins and Janet Manko for reinforcing the walls and installing the items.
The quilt was created in 1976 by a group of Salisbury women under the direction of Mrs. David Luria to celebrate the country’s bicentennial. It features scenes from around town, including the ski jumps, the old Barnett’s store, and the Scoville Memorial Library.
Salisbury Association President Jeanette Weber said it was time to get the quilt in the public eye, since the country will be celebrating its 250th birthday in 2026.
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Submitted
FALLS VILLAGE—Two different student teams from Housatonic Valley Regional High School have won national recognition for blending their historical knowledge with songwriting.
The five students, who are all juniors, presented their award-winning songs Monday to the Region 1 Board of Education. The songs were created for a contest offered by the Hamilton Online Education Program, sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
Kyle McCarron, Manny Matsudaira, Andy Delgado, Katelin Lopes, and Tess Marks all worked with Peter Vermilyea, chairman of the Social Studies Department at HVRHS, as well as music teacher Thomas Krupa in the song creation.
“Students use primary source documents to write a song in the style of Hamilton the musical, to capture the essence of a person, an event or a theme in American history,” Vermilyea told the board. Ten groups from around the country were chosen as competition winners and our school had two of them.”
The students won an all-expense trip to New York City to spend three days and two nights. They and will see “Hamilton the Musical” on Broadway, have a Q and A with the cast, and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum of Broadway.
The students explained how they used primary source documents for the lyrics of their song and blended together traditional melodies with rap sections.
Marks, Lopes and Delgado spoke about their song, the “Battle of Trenton” in which they chose “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine and a letter by Henry Knox that he wrote to his wife, Lucy.
“We used those sources to pull out information about the battle and be truthful in our song, but we also took specific lines from each and put them into our song,” explained Marks.
Lopes said the song follows a path from a melody, into a rap and then back into a melody.
“This signifies the Battle of Trenton and the somber beginning of it to the exciting win for the Army and back into its melody,” Lopes said.
A video of the song can be seen here.
The other group of McCarron and Matsudaira created “Blessed is He” and they said they wanted to focus on the Native Americans and their struggles with the Revolutionary War.
“We focused on the Battle of Oriskany. We used letters from Philip Schuyler and letters from a Shinnecock tribe,” explained Matsudaira. “We used those two as alternating opinions on the matter and creating a song out of it. We also used hymnals from the time period as the melody of our song.”
McCarron said that his group also used the melody-rap-melody pattern. The melody was the Native American’s plea and the rap was the argument between the Shinnecock tribes and the Army.
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GOSHEN — With or without a car, getting around the Northwest Corner can be a challenge.
At its April 4 meeting, Northwest Hills Council of Governments (COG) heard presentations on how to improve road safety, comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, and increase senior transportation options in the rural Connecticut.
University of Connecticut’s Safety Circuit Rider Program tracks road safety data and compiles reports through the Training and Technical Assistance Center. Safety Technical Associate Jason Hughes provided a summary on how municipalities can take advantage of these resources to make safety improvements.
In addition to traffic reports, towns can receive free rental equipment to improve road safety including radar guns, speed feedback signs, pavement marking reflectors, and range finders.
Training sessions are held regularly to educate municipalities on best practices.
“Let my team help your team,” said Hughes.
The next course to educate town employees will be held April 25 in Bristol and will focus on ADA policies, self-assessments, and transition plans.
Department of Transportation (DOT) ADA Coordinating Engineer Katherine Hedberg reviewed municipal requirements when it comes to ADA compliance.
Hedberg’s presentation showed that per U.S. Census Bureau data, more than 26% of Connecticut adults 18+ live with a disability.
There are seven items that need to be in compliance for public entities with more than 50 employees (including school staff): Designation of an ADA Coordinator; Accessibility to public services; Provide public notice of accessibility; Adopt a grievance procedure; Conduct a self-evaluation; Make evaluations publicly available; Develop a transition plan to come into compliance.
Falls Village, the one town in COG with less than 50 town employees, is not required to designate an ADA Coordinator, adopt a grievance policy, make self-evaluations publicly available, or develop a transition plan. These steps are recommended by DOT.
DOT’s goal is to make all town and state sidewalks ADA compliant with curb ramps by 2034.
“When alterations happen to roadways, such as resurfacing, curb ramps are required to be updated at that time,” said Hedberg. She added that bus stops, parking, push buttons for road crossings and sidewalks must also be in compliance, or noted on a transition plan.
At the April 4 meeting, Hedberg noted that seven COG towns have yet to designate an ADA Coordinator and eight COG towns have not completed self-assessments.
Municipalities can access sample transition plans and self-assessments through DOT, and more information will be provided at the April 25 training in Bristol.
For senior transportation services, DOT’s Richard Nakatsuka shared information on a grant matching program to offer rides to the elderly. Each year, up to $5 million is allocated at the state level for this purpose, and towns are eligible for funding based on the percentage of senior residents and total land area.
Combined, COG towns can receive up to $506,688 in matching funds to put toward elderly dial-a-ride transportation. The funds are intended to be used for day-to-day operations including driver salaries, gas expenses, and vehicle upkeep.
Nakatsuka said town can apply individually, jointly, or through the COG.
“We really want the COGs to work with towns to... look at potential opportunities for coordinating service,” said Nakatsuka.
The deadline to apply for funding for the next fiscal year is May 15.
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