SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): People living in Bristol, Connecticut, say the noise hasn’t stopped. For two years, residents of the suburban city west of Hartford have told authorities they’re plagued by a “low industrial hum” emanating from the Reworld Bristol mass burn combustion facility, which was built by a public authority and operated by Reworld since 1998.

The issue has led the Bristol-Burlington Heath District, which regulates noise issues, to contemplate issuing fines to Reworld. State Rep. Rebecca Martinez, who was recently elected to her first term representing the Bristol area in the legislature, introduced a bill to address industrial noise as one of her first actions in office, and companion legislation has been filed in the state Senate.

The amount of waste shipped out of Connecticut has grown steadily in recent years, and officials have been searching for ways to reduce waste while identifying cheap disposal capacity. Reworld, which is in the midst of realigning its strategy and exiting certain West Coast markets, is looking to expand its portfolio in a state where incinerators are aging out without replacement. 

In Bristol, the company is in the final stages of receiving a permit to begin burning biomedical waste as a portion of its overall feedstock. And the company is proposing a new plant in Preston, doubling incineration capacity at an existing combustion site.

Reworld believes it can provide a key solution to Connecticut’s continuing waste disposal crunch. But it’ll have to convince incineration skeptics it operates safely if it wants to realize its ambitious plans.

Courtesy: www.wastedive.com