November 4, 2024:

PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Presented by the Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resources Recovery Authority (SCRRRA)

OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

AN INFORMATIONAL MEETING REGARDING: SCRRRA has proposed construction of a regional composting facility on the land it owns at 132 Military Hwy (Route 12) in Preston. The envisioned facility will create needed infrastructure for the composting of wood chips and food waste from our local communities, much of which is currently disposed of in the regular trash at very high expense. This facility will save Preston, and all SCRRRA’s 12 member towns, significant disposal costs, and produce a high quality, environmentally friendly soil amendment to replace manmade fertilizers. The project obtained approval from Preston Planning & Zoning in January 2024 and is currently pending permit approval from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

WILL BE HELD AT: SCRRRA,7 Hurlbutt Rd Suite O, Gales Ferry, CT 06335

ON: Monday, November 25, 2024 at 6:00 PM

PRIOR TO THE MEETING, INTERESTED PARTIES MAY RSVP ON WEEKDAYS, WITH RESPECT TO ATTENDANCE, TO: office@scrrra.org or (860) 381-5558

THE AGENDA FOR THE INFORMATIONAL MEETING WILL BE:

1. General introduction
2. Description of the proposed facility
3. Operational overview
4. Questions and answers

TO REVIEW PROJECT DOCUMENTS, PLEASE VISIT: www.scrrra.org/about/public-records

TO SUBMIT WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS, PLEASE WRITE TO US: office@scrrra.org

October 25, 2024: Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”): SCRRRA is seeking Statements of Qualification (“SOQ”) from experienced firms interested in providing food scrap customer solicitation and hauling, organics compost facility (“OCF”) management and operations, manufacturing expertise, marketing and product sales services, for the OCF being constructed by SCRRRA in Preston, CT.

To access the RFQ: https://www.scrrra.org/contact-us/rfp/

For information about the proposed SCRRRA compost facility: https://www.scrrra.org/compost-facility-project-update/

August 9, 2024: Have you seen us in Waste Advantage Magazine this week? Learn about SCRRRA’s regional compost facility project in the article linked below!

Waste Advantage Magazine: Desigining a Sustainable Municipal Compost Facility

Additional information:

• January Blog Post: Progress Toward a Regional Compost Facility
• Article in The Day: Preston could host first commercial food waste composting plant in the state (theday.com)
• Article in Waste Dive: Where USDA allotted $11.5M to 38 composting and food waste projects in 2023 | Waste Dive
• USDA CFWR Grant Awards Announcement: USDA Invests Approximately $11.5 Million in Composting and Food Waste Reduction Projects in 23 States | USDA

July 30, 2024: Ledyard residents! Did you know? “The [Ledyard] Town Council has approved the start of a free food scrap recycling pilot program that began Tuesday. Blue Earth Compost of Hartford will be placing food scrap collection bins at the town’s transfer station, located at 889 Colonel Ledyard Highway. The program is free to residents with a proof of residency. According to a news release, Blue Earth will collect the food scraps and haul them to Quantum Biopower, an anaerobic digester in Southington.”

See the full press release, article in The Day, and informational brochure below:

April 23, 2024: The SCRRRA team was delighted to spend the past weekend supporting two local Earth Day events: Groton’s Earth Day Expo and Ledyard’s “Fill the Dumpster!” cleanup event. See more below:

Article in the Day: Youth take charge at Earth Day Expo in Groton (theday.com)

Photos on Facebook: Ledyard Beautification Committee “Fill the Dumpster!” Cleanup Event

April 15, 2024: Are you familiar with Senate Bill 191: An Act Concerning Food Scrap Diversion from the Solid Waste Stream and the Redemption of Out-of-State Beverage Containers? This proposal would make food scrap recycling mandatory in Connecticut.

“Under the proposal, every municipality must establish programs by Jan.1, 2028, that require residents to separate food scraps, food processing residues and organic material from their trash for recycling at authorized composting facilities and other locations.

The bill would also add residentially generated food scraps to the state’s list of “Items Designated for Recycling” and require large waste generators to donate edible food before it becomes compost.

After passing through the Environment Committee last month in a 23 to 11 vote that fell on party lines, the proposal now awaits a vote in the Senate.”

Read more in the full Hartford Courant article: Connecticut sends its trash west. Here’s what lawmakers want you to do instead. (msn.com)

For a full list of key bills that SCRRRA is following this year, please see our Legislation Tracker.

February 1, 2024: The Preston Board of Selectmen has unanimously approved a new, free food scrap recycling pilot program to begin February 2, 2024. Blue Earth Compost, based in Hartford, will be placing food scrap collection bins at the Preston Transfer Station, located at 108 Ross Road. The program is free to all town residents with a Transfer Station sticker.

See the full press release and article in The Day, below:

February 2, 2024: SCRRRA funds and administers a household hazardous waste collection program for residents of our 12 member municipalities. Held April through November, these nine annual collections change location each month, providing free, convenient HHW disposal for homeowners. Confidential paper shredding is also provided (non-commercial entities only). All events run from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. See below for this year’s schedule.

• Saturday, April 6, 2024 – Stonington High School
• Saturday, May 4, 2024 – New London High School
• Saturday, June 15, 2024 – Norwich Public Works
• Saturday, July 6, 2024 – Fitch High School, Groton
• Saturday, July 20, 2024 – Waterford High School
• Saturday, August 3, 2024 – Tyl Middle School, Montville
• Saturday, September 14, 2024 – Wheeler High School, North Stonington
• Saturday, October 5, 2024 – Griswold Public Works
• Saturday, November 2, 2024 – Ledyard High School

To learn more about these events, including participation safety protocol and a list of accepted materials, please visit the Household Hazardous Waste page and see our educational video below.

January 31, 2024: SCRRRA continues to actively work towards building eastern Connecticut’s first commercial-scale food scrap compost facility. On January 25, 2024, we received twofold good news: our site plans were unanimously approved by the Town of Preston Planning and Zoning Commission, and the USDA announced that we have been selected to receive funding through the Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) program! See below for the latest updates in the news:

• Article in The Day: Preston could host first commercial food waste composting plant in the state (theday.com)
• Article in Waste Dive: Where USDA allotted $11.5M to 38 composting and food waste projects in 2023 | Waste Dive
• USDA CFWR Grant Awards Announcement: USDA Invests Approximately $11.5 Million in Composting and Food Waste Reduction Projects in 23 States | USDA

Press Release: Single Stream Curbside Recycling Contamination Reduction Project to Begin this Month

January 1, 2024: Ledyard and East Lyme residents will soon have artificial intelligence (AI) helping them recycle. The Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resources Recycling Authority (SCRRRA) is excited to announce the start of a pilot program using clean-tech company Prairie Robotics’ AI technology to analyze current recycling habits and provide educational outreach to residents.

The system uses cameras and computers to analyze materials in curbside recycling bins as they are loaded into the truck.  When a contaminant is detected – something that should not be in the recycle bin, such as yard waste, food waste, styrofoam, or plastic bags – a photo is taken of the item and a personalized postcard is sent to the address associated with the recycle bin.  The postcard provides the image of the contaminant (all other items blurred for privacy) alongside educational messaging about what can and cannot go in our curbside recycle bins.

All curbside recycling in the SCRRRA region (East Lyme, Griswold, Groton, Ledyard, Montville, New London, North Stonington, Norwich, Preston, Sprague, Stonington and Waterford) is processed at the Casella facility in Willimantic.  Residents often get confused about what can and can’t be put in their recycling bin, causing contamination and reduced quality of the recycled materials.  Throughout CT and around the country, contamination of the recycling stream is a big problem, as it increases the costs of the recycling collection for communities and spoils good recyclables. SCRRRA hopes that by providing personalized education contamination will be decreased, ultimately cleaning up our single stream curbside recycling program and resulting in financial savings for our towns.

Residents are encouraged to download the free SCRRRA app to learn “What Goes Where”.  For more information, visit www.scrrra.org and www.prairierobotics.com. 

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See the report on NBC CT: East Lyme testing AI to track residents’ recycling – NBC Connecticut

See the article in The Day: Garbage trucks with AI to keep an eye on recycling in East Lyme and Ledyard (theday.com)