The eagles agree

For many years we've been saying that turning trash into electricity is the most environmentally responsible method of dealing with garbage. A family of American bald eagles agrees so strongly that they've become our Hartford plant's next-door -- or next-tree -- neighbors.

At left is a map of the South Meadows area of Hartford highlighting the two sections of CRRA's trash-to-energy plant. The eagle icon marks the location of a large tree where, for several years, eagles have nested. We've noticed the eagles many times over the years but it wasn't until earlier this month that we got good pictures of the eagles.

Bruce Morrell, a shift supervisor at the waste processing facility, paddled his kayak onto the Connecticut River and, with a Canon 60D camera got some spectacular images.

Here's one of the eagles bringing the catch of the day back to the nest, where two hungry eaglets are waiting.

The section of the river adjacent to the plant is prime fishing territory for birds and humans. A small fish called an alewife attracts larger fish like bass, carp and perch, and since alewives seem to like the waters around the plant the area is popular with fishermen of all species.

You can see the two babies in the image below. One is inside the nest while the other appears to be sitting a little higher.

Below are mom and dad with the little ones safely beneath them.

In all of nature, there are few things more spectacular than seeing an American bald eagle in flight. To have a family of them living next to our trash-to-energy plant is special.

In the image below, one of the eaglets is sitting alongside mom.

Here's one of the young ones trying his (her?) wings.

This adult can see for miles and miles . .  .

The view from up here

We were atop the Hartford landfill this morning and were taken by the view on this clear day. When we complete the installation of a synthetic cap and turn the landfill over to the City, here's a glimpse of what the people of Hartford will be able to enjoy:

The landfill has unmatched views of the surrounding area, including the Hartford skyline:

The wild flowers are in bloom, adding to the scene.

While some people still fight the last war, CRRA is tackling new challenges

CRRA sent the following to members of the legislature’s Government Administration & Elections Committee and Energy & Technology Committee on March 21:

Recently two legislative committees heard testimony that included some rather harsh accusations about CRRA. Making these accusations was a lobbyist representing employees of a former CRRA contractor. However, in re-fighting a battle that a Superior Court judge declared was over, the lobbyist painted a picture of CRRA that is, to put it mildly, inaccurate. Please allow us to correct the record with a few facts.

CRRA is open and transparent. All CRRA meetings are public – in fact several times over the years this same lobbyist has made those same accusations during the public-comment portions of our meetings. While CRRA has been inundated with Freedom of Information requests for many years – many by this former contractor and its network of allies – since the legislature reconstituted CRRA in 2002 the Freedom of Information Commission has never found CRRA to be in violation of open-meetings or open-records laws. Despite the fact that these requests have been costly and burdensome, CRRA has complied fully with each and every request.

Section 22a-268 of the Connecticut General Statutes requires CRRA to use private contractors to operate its facilities. When the contracts to operate CRRA’s largest facility, the Mid-Connecticut Project trash-to-energy facility in Hartford, were nearing their expiration CRRA undertook a public and transparent competitive procurement process to select the best contractor to operate and maintain the plant.

In December 2010, after a 15-month evaluation process, CRRA awarded a contract to the most qualified and lowest-cost bidder, NAES Corporation, to begin operating the plant in December 2011. Almost immediately one of the incumbent contractors sued, claiming CRRA and its selection process were biased. The case went to trial, and after hearing 10 days of testimony and reviewing over 200 exhibits, Superior Court Judge Julia J. Aurigemma rendered a 45-page decision upholding the award of the contract to NAES.

Judge Aurigemma wrote: “The CRRA acted fairly and in a non-discriminatory manner with respect to all bidders in the process, including the (incumbent contractor/plaintiff). The (incumbent contractor/plaintiff), on the other hand, went through the motions of participating in the procurement process while at the same time attempting to legislate the CRRA out of existence.”

In court, it was shown that the incumbent contractor did not act to retain the contract or protect the jobs of its employees. In contrast CRRA required the successful bidder to offer jobs to all the incumbent contractors’ employees at their existing wages. None of those workers lost their jobs.

NAES has proven to be a quality operator. In less than three months, NAES met or exceeded the productivity levels that the former contractor took 24 years to reach.

Furthermore, NAES has quickly and satisfactorily implemented the rigorous safety protocols CRRA requires.

CRRA is pleased with the performance of its new contractor and our customer towns are delighted with the millions in savings for their taxpayers. However, CRRA does face imminent challenges due to collapsing energy markets. Trash-to-energy system has two primary sources of revenue: disposal fees and electricity sales. With robust power prices, CRRA’s disposal fees fall, easing the burden on municipalities, residents and businesses whose trash CRRA manages.

Because natural-gas prices collapsed in the second half of 2011, power prices followed suit. When our new power contract takes effect in less than three months, CRRA will sell its electricity at an all-time low price. Regrettably, this is jeopardizing the lower disposal prices we have offered our customers and, more importantly, risks the 30 years of environmental progress Connecticut has made in managing its solid waste responsibly by forcing hundreds of thousands of tons of trash onto trucks bound for out-of-state landfills.

To combat this, CRRA supports HB 5118, which would make trash-to-energy a Class 1 renewable power source. The premium electric suppliers must pay for Class 1 renewable would ensure the economic viability and the environmental safeguards trash-to-energy offers. The state of Maryland has already taken this step, and we believe it is important for Connecticut to do the same.

Just as there are some generals still fighting the last war, there are some special interests who are still trying to re-litigate a case that clearly validated CRRA’s performance. Thank you for the opportunity to insure that these claims, inaccurate and counter to the facts, do not enter the record unchallenged.

You ask, we answer

George asks: Most oil and hazardous liquids come in a number 2 plastic bottle. These are things a homeowner would have a lot of, like, oil, antifreeze, weed killer or dozens of other products that come in these containers. If the bottles are washed out, can they be recycled and if not why?

George: You raise a good point, but the situation you describe is not unlike our experience with another recyclable material, namely cardboard. Pizza comes in cardboard boxes, and there was a time when we said pizza boxes were acceptable if they were clean. We soon found out that different people had different definitions of "clean," and soon we were getting pizza boxes that were greasy or had cheese stuck to them, and before long it was just easier to not accept pizza boxes at all.

The point here, and we do have one (apologies to Ellen DeGeneres), is that it's easier to just ask people to bring these materials to a hazardous-waste collection, ensuring the contents will be safely disposed of.

These kids get it -- do you?

Check out this video made by children at Mary M. Hooker Environmental Sciences Magnet School in Hartford:

Maybe there, but not here

You may have heard a story on NPR called "After Dump, What Happens To Electronic Waste?" which told the oft-told tale that electronics recycling isn't always what it seems.

Maybe that's true elsewhere, but not for residents of towns that rely on CRRA for electronics recycling. We contract with eco International, one of the nation’s electronics recycling leaders, to keep these items out of the waste stream. At its facility in Vestal, N.Y., eco International dismantles items into raw materials, such as copper, steel, aluminum, glass and plastic, and sells these materials to firms who turn them into new products.

eco International has signed the Basel Action Network Pledge of True Stewardship, an internationally recognized commitment to responsible recycling and has been audited by CHWMEG, Inc.; results of that audit can be reviewed on-line.

We're not saying this to brag, but merely to reassure you that we're doing everything we can to provide this service the right way.

We're also awaiting word that the statewide electronics recycling program being crafted by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection is ready to launch.

We've inspired a holiday tree

There's a new holiday tree in the center of Stratford, and it's made from recycled materials.

Local business leaders got the idea in the spring at the grand opening of the Garbage Museum's first professional art exhibit. They saw how people react to Trash-o-saurus and wanted to create the same effect in their central business district.

You can read more here and here.