KENT, Conn.—Kent residents have enthusiastically embraced the growing effort to recycle organic household waste, recycling 72 tons of food scraps since the composting program started in July 2023.
Tiffany Carlson, Housatonic Resource Recovery Authority recycling educator, told the Conservation Commission Wednesday, Jan. 14, that 16 tons of scraps have been diverted since July 2025.
“You’re ahead of your pace even from the prior year, which is pretty remarkable,” she said. “For a town the size of Kent to contribute to helping Connecticut’s waste crisis by diverting 72 tons of waste is really something to celebrate.”
Conservation Commission Chairman Jean Speck noted that 72 tons is about half the weight of the Statue of Liberty.
Carlson reported that 18 residents are regularly using the recycling bins installed in early December at the town’s welcome center at 3 North Main St. and outside the transfer station. The bins, which can be opened any time of the day, seven days a week, allow residents holding permits to dispose of food scraps when the transfer station is closed.
All the persons using the bins held full transfer station permits, Calrson reported, although a permit for food scraps only is available.
“It indicates that people were frustrated with not being able to get rid of the scraps when the transfer station was closed,” Carlson said.
There have been a few glitches as residents learn how to use the bins, many of them because people forgot to activate Bluetooth on their phones. The phones act as a key to open the bins.
“It goes beyond just the weight of food scraps,” Carlson said. “Organic matter has a lot of water in it and sending it to a burn plant isn’t very efficient. If we ship it [to other states] there are all those carbon emissions, so composting goes well beyond weight.
Kent pays HRRA by the ton to receive its solid municipal waste, so reducing weight helps to reduce costs for taxpayers.
Conservation Commission member Connie Manes asked if there have been issues with contamination from people throwing inappropriate materials into the bins but Public Works foreman Rick Osborne has not reported any problems. Eventually, cameras will be installed on the units to record materials being deposited.
In other business, the commission briefly discussed the use of salt and other de-icing materials on the roadways and their effect on the town’s watercourses. In December, resident Matthew Starr wrote asking the commission to look into the “annual overuse and waste of de-icing products on our roadways.”
He asserted that, “The continual failure to train and monitor highway workers on proper use according to the EPA recommendations is harming our wetlands, aquatic life, plants, bees, birds and small animals as well as surface water and ground water. I ask the commission to demand the town of Kent train, monitor and hold accountable staff spreading this material.”
He further asked the commission whether the Sewer District is pumping raw sewage, without dewatering and/or treatment into the field along the river south of the sewer plant. “The process of dewatering, drying and adjusting the pH is no longer being done due to the high volumes delivered from all over Connecticut and New York,” he asserted. “It is truly an environment disaster.”
New member Emilia Deimezis approached the Housatonic Valley Association for data on the effects of de-icing materials on waterways but was told it did not have that information. She said that data loggers could be provided to monitor levels of contaminants next winter.
As for the sewer plant, Sewer Commission Chairman Elissa Potts said the Kent facility was built in the late 1980s as a regional receiving system for the towns around Kent, accepting both septage from the village center and materials pumped for private septic systems. It was permitted and constructed through a grant from DEEP.
Potts said the volume has increased over the years.
“The facility is important for all properties that have septic systems,” she said. “The contents of septic tanks are removed from these properties and delivered to this or [an]other nearby facility. The facility is inspected along with the Sewage Treatment facility on a regular basis by the CTDEEP. The most recent inspection occurred within the past six months. The inspectors … did not identify any ‘environmental disaster’ associated with the operations observed.”
She said septage gathered from home septic systems is deposited in two receiving lagoons, where it remains for a period of months, being treated with lime on a regular basis to adjust the pH and minimize odors.
Water is removed from the lagoons on a periodic basis and applied to the fields south of the plant, where it soaks into the ground and is managed to prevent discharge into water courses and wetlands.
“This is the dewatering process that occurs in order to solidify the material, allowing it to be handled. No further drying process is done in the handling of the septage.”
The dewatered septage from both the lagoons and the town’s sewer plant’s digester is spread on the 12-acre field once a year and harrowed into the earth. Crops are planted on the field to help consume the nutrients.
“The Sewer Commission and its staff take their responsibilities for safe discharge of waste seriously,” she continued. “We appreciate the interest of the Community in the operations of the Commission. These operations are frequently messy and unpleasant but necessary to support the Town’s waste disposal needs.”
