Recipient Organization
SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT REGIONAL RESOURCES RECOVERY AUTHORITY
7 HURLBUTT RD
GALES FERRY,CT 06335
Performing Department
Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resources Recovery Authority
Non Technical Summary
The state of Connecticut is facing a waste crisis. We produce more waste than our existing infrastructure can handle. According to the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, CT residents dispose of almost 2.4 million tons of trash each year, most of which is incinerated or hauled to landfills out of state. This is an expensive, unsustainable, and environmentally unfriendly solution. Organic, compostable materials such as food scraps, paper and yard debris make up approximately 40% of a CT household's waste. These organic materials should be diverted out of the waste stream to be recycled as compost, a nutrient-rich soil amendment and fertilizer alternative for farmers and gardeners. While many residents in our towns compost at home, it isn't enough to solve the state's crisis. CT needs local infrastructure and support for large-scale, regional organics diversion and composting.The Southeastern CT Regional Resources Recovery Authority (SCRRRA) manages about 130,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) per year for our 12 member municipalities in New London County, mainly through incineration. There is currently no infrastructure in place for organics diversion. SCRRRA now proposes to construct and operate southeastern Connecticut's first and only commercial-scale food waste composting facility, creating the necessary infrastructure to divert the region's organic material from the MSW stream, generate a local source of high-quality compost, and increase awareness of the importance of food waste reduction and recycling.The facility will be located on approximately six acres of land in Preston, CT and will utilize an innovative hybrid compost system, combining aerated static pile (ASP) processing with open windrows for a cost-effective solution. Our compost will be sold at market prices and will benefit our local farmers and gardeners, who currently source their fertilizers and compost from at least 75 miles away. A portion will be designated for our region's disadvantaged communities, as requested and at a reduced price, to be used for community gardens and beautification projects. The feedstocks for our compost will be sourced locally (an estimated 50,000 tons of compostable material annually). SCRRRA's 12 municipal transfer stations have an abundance of yard trimmings and wood waste which SCRRRA will grind for use in the facility. Food scraps will be collected at each of the transfer stations, and we plan to collaborate with experienced organics haulers like Black Earth Compost (Gloucester, MA) and Blue Earth Compost (Hartford, CT) to provide curbside pickup to residents of our member towns. We expect local businesses, schools, hospitals, etc. will also use the facility.Our project aligns well with the purpose and priorities of the CFWR program, as it aims to create awareness and infrastructure for large-scale food waste reduction, organics diversion, and composting in our historically disadvantaged 12-town region, where no infrastructure currently exists. Any funds awarded through this grant opportunity will be used to offset the costs of equipment and construction of the facility. The SCRRRA composting facility will be the first and only of its kind in our region and will transform the local solid waste infrastructure, allowing our member towns to manage materials in a hyper-local circular economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create cleaner and healthier communities.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of this project is to provide the southeastern Connecticut region with the large-scale infrastructure necessary to divert organics from the solid waste stream and instead process them into nutrient-rich compost for the local community. Our project will:facilitate diversion of food waste from the waste stream,establish large-scale capacity for organics recycling,provide a local source of compost,reduce the amount of waste being sent to incinerators and landfills,reduce greenhouse gas emissions created by incineration, landfilling, and trucking,sequester carbon in the natural process of composting, andsave the region money by lowering waste disposal costs.Our project supports the objectives of the CFWR funding opportunity, particularly those relating to diverting food waste from landfills, generating/increasing access to compost, reducing reliance on fertilizer, improving soil quality and increasing rainwater absorption. Any funds awarded will be used to offset the cost of equipment and construction of the facility.SCRRRA's project will emphasize and promote environmental justice and racial equity in our region. Our compost facility will benefit our twelve very diverse communities, including several identified as "disadvantaged" according to the CEJST (see Appendix A of the original application). These communities have experienced a disproportionate lack of resources that has affected residents' welfare industrially, economically, and health-wise. Our project will benefit SCRRRA's disadvantaged communities because it will:provide the infrastructure needed for citizens to divert food scraps from their household trash, reducing the amount of overall trash produced and the cost of disposal, freeing up municipal funds to benefit the community in other ways;provide finished compost to these communities, as requested and at a reduced price (including free compost for a limited quantity), to be used for community gardens and beautification projects. For example, as part of SCRRRA's 2021 pilot project, finished compost was provided to the Ledyard Garden Club, which grows produce that is donated entirely to local food banks, and to the FRESH Gardens in New London, which promote food justice and youth empowerment "to dismantle systemic oppression and build food sovereignty" in a disadvantaged and diverse city, particularly within the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People Of Color) community;increase awareness and understanding of environmental issues and recycling options; andhelp shift mindsets to be more aware of what we use and what we waste, creating more educated and environmentally minded communities.SCRRRA's project addresses the most-preferred food waste recovery activities as described in the EPA's Food Recovery Hierarchy:"Source Reduction" - Concurrent with the creation of the regional compost facility, SCRRRA will provide public educational messaging in support of organics recycling and overall reduction of food waste;"Feed Hungry People" - SCRRRA will support local community gardens and food banks;"Industrial Uses" - Utilizing our 12 towns' municipal yard waste as a carbon source for the compost mixture by grinding to mulch;"Composting" - Creating a nutrient-rich soil amendment for local use.
Project Methods
The SCRRRA composting facility will include an innovative hybrid system, combining aerated static pile (ASP) processing with open windrows for a cost-effective solution. The facility will be situated on approximately six acres of land in Preston, CT (see Appendix D of the original applicationfor a detailed site plan). Similar to facilities like Black Earth Compost in Gloucester, Massachusetts and the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) Amboy Compost Site in Camillus, New York, our facility will involve a receiving area, a processing area, and a sales/bagging area. The receiving area will be located on the west side of the property and will consist of a covered building on a concrete slab with a roll-up door where food scraps will be received. When food scraps are dumped, they will be mixed with ground yard waste and appropriate amounts of water to prepare a compostable mix. Odors will be minimal throughout the entire process, but to further reduce them during this first step, the food scraps will be processed on a daily basis. The mixture will then be placed in an ASP bay, which will be situated on concrete slabs and contained by concrete bin blocks. The first stage will involve wireless temperature monitoring, aeration (pushing air through pipes beneath the windrow with a system of fans), and watering as needed. Each bay will be operated at sufficient temperatures to sterilize the compost, rendering any pathogens inert and killing weed seeds. After two to three weeks in the ASP bay, the compost will then be moved to open windrows to further cure. By this stage, the compost will look and feel like rich, black soil. After about two months on the windrow, the finished compost product will be moved to the designated area for screening, bagging, storage, and sale to the public. As mentioned above, our compost will be sold at market prices and will greatly benefit our local farmers and gardeners, who currently source their fertilizers and composts from at least 75 miles away. A portion will be designated for our region's disadvantaged communities, as requested and at a reduced price - including free compost for a limited quantity - to be used for community gardens and beautification projects.The feedstocks for our compost will be sourced locally (40% of 130,000 tons of MSW is approximately 50,000 tons of compostable material). SCRRRA's twelve municipal transfer stations have an abundance of yard trimmings and wood waste which SCRRRA will grind for use in the facility. We plan to collect food scraps at each of the municipal transfer stations and to collaborate with experienced organics haulers like Black Earth Compost (Gloucester, MA) and Blue Earth Compost (Hartford, CT) to provide curbside pickup to the residents of our member towns. We expect local businesses, schools, hospitals, etc. will also use the facility.