Officials at the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority said Tuesday that at least nine towns have announced plans to cut ties with the agency in the coming months.
Bloomfield, East Hampton, Ellington, Hartford, Naugatuck, Thomaston, Watertown, Manchester and Wethersfield have all announced they will leave the regional trash collaborative, which annually burns hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage from around 50 towns in 海角换妻.
Peter Egan, director of operations and environmental affairs at MIRA, announced the departures Tuesday to members of the state鈥檚 Solid Waste Advisory Committee.
鈥淎s I sit here today 鈥� the end of March 鈥� I can鈥檛 tell you whether we鈥檙e going to run the facility next year for a year, for a few months, we鈥檙e just not certain,鈥� Egan said. 鈥淲e will have this certainty in about a month.鈥�
Once a destination for hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage from dozens of towns across the state, MIRA鈥檚 trash-burning plant on the banks of the 海角换妻 River in Hartford has been plagued with mechanical issues and rising costs in recent years.
MIRA officials originally announced the plant would close by July but then postponed that date after struggling to finalize a trash hauling agreement with a private company.
MIRA annually affords municipalities the opportunity to break contracts after new disposal fees are announced. The deadline for towns to decide is April 8.
鈥淪o by April 8, we鈥檒l know who鈥檚 in and who鈥檚 out for the upcoming fiscal year,鈥� Egan said. 鈥淏ased on what we know is leaving our system now, it鈥檚 highly unlikely that we鈥檙e going to operate the facility for 12 more months. It鈥檚 also unlikely we鈥檙e going to shut the facility down on July 1.鈥�
Last year, East Hartford, North Branford and Roxbury all left MIRA. The agency鈥檚 biggest municipal customer, the city of Hartford, had already announced it planned to exit the collaborative in the coming months, citing rising costs and the plant鈥檚 uncertain future.
Egan said additional towns are considering leaving the trash collaborative. He said those decisions will influence future operations as MIRA management works to shutter the agency鈥檚 trash-burning plant.
鈥淲e will continue to operate the waste to energy plant as long as we need to to provide for a controlled, deliberate transition,鈥� Egan said.
