Recycling continued to be a growing area of focus for the Londonderry Utilities Committee and its sewer and solid waste subcommittee, as members discussed ongoing plans for a possible food-to-waste recycling facility known as Recycle Works.
“A significant portion of our latest meeting was devoted to a discussion about Recycle Works. Just to refresh everybody, Recycle Works is a proposed new facility to be built on the north end of town, sort of near Stonyfield Yogurt,” explained subcommittee Chair John Mahon. “They would take in expired beer, soda, liquids, etc., and they would also have a direct pipe from Stonyfield with their waste product, and they would convert that to methane for the most part, which would connect into the pipeline.”
The proposal has previously been reviewed by the Heritage and Conservation Commissions, although it has not yet gone before the Planning Board. Traffic concerns have left the future of the project uncertain.
“From a recycling point of view, I think we like the concept, but there was a lot of conversation in the meeting, and the consensus was that we had other concerns as citizens,” said Mahon. “There’s traffic in the area – this is around Wentworth – and there would be a significant amount of truck traffic bringing in expired goods and taking out the containers and cardboard and everything. You’ll have truck traffic in and out, so there was some concern with that.”
The recycling process would also involve water outflow in a heavily forested area, raising additional concerns about water contamination, noise, and odors.
“Is this part of a bigger plan?” asked Utilities Committee member Anne Fenn. “About 10 years ago, Stonyfield was very interested in building an ecoindustrial park, and I’m curious as to whether or not this is a piece of that.”
Mahon said the foodrecycling facility appeared to be connected to a broader concept.
“It’s certainly working off of a larger concept,” he said.
The sewer and solid waste subcommittee is also moving forward with plans to expand composting in Londonderry.
“Joy Muller is doing research on compost equipment. We had an offer from the Town Manager to fund a program much like solid waste did several years ago to offer discounted, or maybe even better than discounted, composting equipment to residents who might be interested,” said Mahon.
No immediate details were available on what the program might include.
Meanwhile, Cable and Internet subcommittee Chair John Ferreira reported that recent compatibility upgrades were expected to improve connectivity for many Londonderry residents following a wave of complaints from Xfinity customers about slow speeds and cable box issues.
“They are finally addressing the server and compatibility problems that affect this state and California,” said Ferreira. “Hopefully, it will work a lot better.”
Ferreira continues to monitor network performance closely.