KENT, Conn.—Kent has been highly successful in its efforts to reduce its municipal solid waste (MSW) in recent years, and now further changes are on the horizon.
The town is a member of the Housatonic Resource Recovery Authority (HRRA), a 14-town body working out of Brookfield, that transports MSW from towns ranging in size from New Milford and Danbury down to rural communities like Sherman and Kent. The very size differential among the communities has prompted HRRA administrators to discuss language changes in its ordinances.
Executive Director Jennifer Heaton-Jones told the Board of Selectmen Wednesday, Dec. 3, that the current voting structure is weighted for member towns and that she would like to change it to a “one town, one vote” system. She explained that under the weighted system Danbury has 34 votes and Kent only one. Because of this kind of disparity, if one of the larger towns is absent from a HRRA directors’ meeting, she may not be able to attain a quorum.
“I have had meetings where 10 out of the 14 representatives were there and it wasn’t a quorum,” she said. “Until every municipality changes to one town, one vote, often I cannot legally hold a meeting. I give high priority to changing this as soon as possible.”
The change was first proposed four years ago and Danbury turned it down, an action she attributed to the fact that Mayor Roberto Alves had just taken office and hadn’t had enough time or experience to form an opinion. “Now, it’s four years later and he may feel differently,” she said.
The second language change would affect the enforcement for non-compliant haulers. The language change would bring continuity to enforcement across all 14 towns so due process would be consistent.
“It’s important that enforcement be consistent,” she said. “Haulers are often in violation across a number of town and it’s difficult to enforce the rules if each town has own set of penalties.”
She said that imposing consistent penalties would make the business safer for both haulers and their clients.
“Hauling waste is one of the top 10 most dangerous occupations,” she reported. “We have had two fatalities—one at our plant where a worker was crushed and another when a motorcycle driver pulled out in front of a hauler’s truck.”
Many regulations govern haulers, but HRRA has “a long list of haulers who are not registered.”
“We don’t know if they have a license or are insured,” she said. “We need the same language for each town. HRRA can’t do that, so each town must. The state refuses to enforce the rules and we have no authority, but the municipalities have the power to enforce and to make sure that there is due process for the violator.”
Any change to the ordinance would require a public hearing and town vote.
The reconfigured Kent Board of Selectmen, which was holding its first meeting since the November elections, decided it needed more time to think about the issue.
New Selectman Lynn Harrington asked about a legal notice posted by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection that talks about regionalization for the upgraded food scraps composting system near the transfer station. The legal notice mentioned acceptance of food scraps and other organic materials from neighboring towns.
Heaton-Jones said that because state grant money is being used to install an “in-vessel composting system,” the system cannot be confined to just Kent residents. “It allows you over time to accept from other towns. It’s part of the vision to ensure that we are working regionally.”
“You can also charge fees for the service,” she said. “The in-vessel system [a closed container] can only take so much, but you may need material from other towns to have enough to feed it.”
She explained that a 10-foot-by-20-foot sealed container will be installed on Public Work’s land just on the other side of a new retaining wall at the transfer station. Because of it biofilter, there will be no odor or leachate. Material is fed into one end of the digester, where it is aerated for 30 days, cured for another month and emerges as compost Kent residents can use on their properties.
HRRA applied for the $408,000 grant, but Kent will own the system. It is part of a proactive approach HRRA is taking to reduce Connecticut’s waste crisis. State residents and businesses produce 3.5 million tons of waste each year, almost one million tons more than the state’s capacity to process it. Thirty percent of that excess is found in organic matter.
In July 2026, Connecticut schools that hit certain thresholds will be required to source their food scraps and other organic materials. “Where are they going to do that,” Heaton-Jones asked. “It is on the dime of the taxpayers to pay for that. We are trying to ensure ahead of the mandate that municipalities are self-sustainable in managing food scraps,” she said.
