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Tonight we are reminded yet again of how much the pandemic has disrupted our lives.
Traditionally, we would have been together in the City Council chamber with Councilors and their President, Susan Albright, School Committee members, staff and residents for this State of the City address.
But not this year.
In addition to the rituals of civic life, we ve been forced to reimagine how we celebrate the milestones of birthdays, weddings and graduations and have foregone the pleasures of July 4th at Albemarle or a simple Sunday dinner with extended family.
COVID-19 has stripped us of essentials. We can t comfort loved ones in the hospital or collectively mourn at a funeral. Our hearts break week after week for everyone who has lost a loved one – including the families and friends of 188 of our neighbors who have died with COVID.
Robert Miller: A coalition s effort to improve CT recycling
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Newspapers, cans, bottles and other recycled material sits in a huge pile at the Winters Bros. Waste Systems of Connecticut recycling facility on White Street in Danbury.Hearst Connecticut Media file photo
In 1991, the state passed its mandatory recycling law.
In the three decades that have passed, much has changed. But not the laws, or people’s habits. They pull their garbage and recyclables to the curb for pick-up and think they’ve done their part.
“Something like 85 percent of people in the state want to recycle properly and they think they are doing it properly,” said Bethel First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker.
CT Compost Alliance to Increase Composting Efforts in Connecticut Written by CT Deep
The CT Compost Alliance, a newly formed group of compost enthusiasts representing a variety of stakeholder organizations, has shared a series of resources, including recorded webinars, videos, and a new listserv to ensure that current and future composters have the opportunity to continue to learn, network and engage.
Connecticut is facing a waste crisis, as some of the traditional options for disposing of municipal solid waste are becoming more costly or becoming unavailable. According to a 2015 study, 35% of what residents throw away is organic material food scraps and yard waste that can be donated, composted, or used as animal feed. Increasing composting is a key piece to addressing the state’s waste crisis, and the more sustainable waste future we envision for our state.
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It’s always tempting to pen an article in early January filled with predictions for the coming year, but after what we all collectively endured in 2020 and thus far in 2021, my hat goes off to anyone who has the confidence to make predictions again. Looking back at the past four years in recycling, we’ve faced unprecedented market turbulence following China’s ban on recycling exports, and now extraordinary operational and health challenges in a global pandemic, all set amid the national backdrop of escalating racial tensions and mounting polarization in politics.
Suffice it to say, “normal” is long gone.
Cloe Poisson / Connecticut Mirror
Originally published on January 12, 2021 11:43 pm
A coalition of 74 cities and towns met this week to discuss the future of the state’s trash. The discussions come as the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority announced it will close its Hartford trash-to-energy plant by July 2022. That closure has some municipal leaders asking a big question about our garbage: Should residents pay for each bag they throw out?
When the Hartford plant stops burning trash next year, a key location responsible for annually incinerating hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage will instead ship massive amounts of trash to out-of-state landfills.