The Department of Energy and Environmental protection is helping cities and towns around the state move a step closer toward greener trash.
Connecticut is facing a solid waste problem.
“I hear from municipal leaders all over the state. The cost of shipping trash out of state, the cost of sending it to an incinerator is going up and up,” Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes said.
Nearly 3.5 million tons of solid waste is generated each year in Connecticut and the state estimates almost 41% could have been composted, according to 2022 data. That means the cost to toss trash could have been cut dramatically.
“And that means less money to pay for schools and other amenities,” Dykes said.
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She announced on Thursday the first phase of getting more municipalities on the composting trail with $15 million in grants for building composting and recycling facilities statewide.
Coventry, Greenwich, Manchester, Mansfield, Stratford and Housatonic Resources Regional Authority are some of the grant recipients.
New Haven was awarded $3.3 million to build a system at the existing transfer station for sorting compost and solid waste. It will replace the old incinerator building.
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“Instead of burning waste, we’re going to be putting in a big conveyer belt that will allow us to pull off those green bags and divert them from the incinerator in Bridgeport or the incinerator in Lisbon,” Steve Winter, director of the New Haven Office of Climate and Sustainability, said.
The next round of state grant funding will be for education and implementation. The details on the composting program and the cost to New Haven residents are still being worked out, with a planned launch in 2027.
“These are gonna take big steps,” Ward 10 Alder Anna Festa said. “We have a big responsibility in front of us, but we will get there.”
The DEEP program was piloted in 15 municipalities including Middletown and West Haven, with concerns raised by residents in both of those cities over logistics and cost.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said the key will be communication over the next few years to get residents onboard.
“We’re going to choose areas of the city where we’re going to do a lot of engagement and education with residents," Elicker said.
This first phase of moving New Haven to the composting model will take a few years to plan and build the sorting facility, with education and outreach planned ahead of the 2027 launch.
