Date: Fri 20-Jun-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

trash-HRRA-Wheelabrator

Full Text:

Newtown Barely Meets Its Trash Quota

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Newtown may have met its quota of trash for the regional collection system

this year, but Public Works Director Fred Hurley still is concerned. Tonnage

has been slipping throughout the 11-town region and many towns could face

significant penalties next year.

"Just because we met our tonnage requirement this year doesn't mean we can

ignore the problem," Mr Hurley said. "The total tonnage (in Newtown) of some

individual haulers appears to be down. If we got another 10 percent reduction,

we'd be in trouble."

According to projected figures given to the Housatonic Resources Recovery

Authority (HRRA) last week, the regional transfer station in Danbury will only

collect 74,000 tons of trash for the coming fiscal year. That amount is well

below the 90,000 minimum the 11 participating towns must collect if they are

to avoid penalties.

The diversion of trash away from the regional station began after the US

Supreme Court ruled in 1994 that haulers can choose where they take their

trash. Almost overnight, haulers began taking their loads to cheaper

collection points usually - but not always - out of state.

The pace of diversion increased in Danbury when Greensphere Inc, which

operates the regional trash collection station on White Street, opened a

second transfer station at the second facility. Haulers now have a choice

between paying the HRRA contract rate of $78 per ton at Greensphere or $50 to

$60 a ton at the other site, called Transfer Systems Inc (TSI). TSI takes the

trash to landfills and trash burning plants that charge a lower disposal fee

than the Wheelabrator Environmental Systems incinerator in Bridgeport.

The 11 towns in HRRA have a 26-year contract with Wheelabrator guaranteeing

103,786 tons of trash annually to feed its incinerator. Wheelabrator has filed

a lawsuit in Superior Court in Danbury against Greensphere owner James

Galante, claiming he is bound by contract to take all trash at the White

Street facility to its incinerators.

Newtown is required to provide 9,670 tons of trash by the end of the fiscal

year on June 30, and had met that quota by the first week of June. Other towns

aren't as fortunate. Regionwide, the towns could face as much as $1.5 million

in penalties next year unless something is done.

Newtown's trash is sent directly to Bridgeport from the transfer station on

Ethan Allen Road at the former landfill. Tonnage has been slipping slightly,

however, and Mr Hurley is concerned.

"About half of the 10 haulers (that service Newtown) have been showing some

slippage," he said. "We have flags on several of them, particularly Danbury

Carting, which shows that it isn't picking up anything in Newtown now, DWD,

AWD and TM Carting, which is down about 10 to 15 tons. DWD was down 436 tons

in the region during May and Danbury Carting was down 162 tons."

If there is a regional shortage next year, towns that don't meet their quota

could be billed. Individual towns could face as much as $1.5 million in

penalties if trash continues to be diverted to cheaper collection points under

HRRA's projected figures.

This year HRRA will receive a 13,000-ton credit because it collected 33,000

tons of recyclables. The amount of recyclables over 20,000 tons each year is

subtracted from the 103,786 tons of trash, leaving the region a requirement of

about 90,000 tons this year.

"If the region fails to meet its quota, then the shortfall has to be made up

on a town-by-town basis," Mr Hurley said. "It's called put-or-pay. Towns that

haven't met their quotas would pay not only for the lack of the ($78 per ton)

tip fee, but also for the lack of the electrical revenue (generated by the

trash-to-energy incinerators). So there's a double-whammy."

"The solution is to work something out so that the diversion stops," he said.

The irony is that the haulers who are diverting trash aren't passing along the

savings to the homeowner.

"They're saying they have to set charges based on HRRA's $78 a ton tip fee,

but they're sending the trash out of the regional system," he said. "It may be

legal but is it ethical?"