Date: Fri 30-May-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

recycling-junk-mail

Full Text:

Junk Mail Recycling Solution May Be At Hand

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

It's been nearly six months since the town suspended junk mail recycling, but

a solution may be close at hand.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said one of the problems the town has been

having is getting the junk mail picked up from the transfer station on Ethan

Allen Road. Another problem is getting containers for them.

Mr Hurley recently learned that the town can use 40-yard containers (in place

of the hard-to-find corrugated boxes), which it already has. Mr Hurley said

the town used to be dependent on the Marcal Paper Company to send a truck to

pick up the containers that were full of junk mail. With the 40-yard

containers, he said, Marcal will take them any time the town can deliver them.

Of course, this means additional costs for shipping, but Mr Hurley said the

town will be able to balance that off against the cost of sending out garbage

at $80 per ton.

Recently, Mr Hurley has also learned that hauling this material to New Jersey

may not be as expensive as previously quoted. In addition, there may be

another outlet for these recyclables opening up in Hartford.

As Mr Hurley points out, if the town can't haul away the junk mail for less

than the $80 per ton garbage tip fee, then it may not be worth recycling it.

"There's the economics," he said. "We're not going to make money on recycling,

but we're looking for a less expensive way to get rid of it."

Right now, Mr Hurley expects a cost of $16,000 to $20,000 to recycle junk

mail, which would be less of an expense than including it with the garbage.

The public works director wants to make sure a long-standing solution is

found. Housatonic Resource Recovery Authority (HRRA) is currently negotiating

with the Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority (CRRA) over possible

solutions that would allow the material to be recycled in the state.

"What we're looking for is a system of getting rid of junk mail that's

consistent and that we have some control over so that we don't have the

starting and stopping of services," he said.

As for certain plastics (3,4,5,6,7), which includes Styrofoam, Mr Hurley has

found no market for them. However, they can easily be put in with the rest of

the garbage since they have no significant volume.

"With junk mail you're talking about serious tonnage," he said.

Mr Hurley will attend the June 2 meeting of the Board of Selectmen to brief

the board on recycling matters.