By JEFF EPSTEIN
[email protected]
CORNISH – Residents here heard Wednesday about the negative impact on recycling programs caused by Chinese import restrictions in the past few years. Yet, many expressed a wish to see if Cornish’s program can be made sustainable.
Cornish uses a “zero-sort” program in which a single stream of household recyclable material is trucked to a processor, in this case the Casella company facility in White River Junction, Vt.
That means all the material is considered contaminated, and contaminated material is essentially worthless in today’s market, explained Michael Durfor, executive director of the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) in Epsom, who spoke to about 50 people who came out to the meeting in the town offices called by the select board. Cornish still has to pay, however, to have it hauled away.
Since 2011, when expenses exceeded revenue by only $571 a year, the net cost steadily increased to nearly $17,114 in 2016. Last year was slightly better, but it was still a significant cost.
Most towns that still do recycling are in this kind of a bind, Durfor said. “This has been coming for a long time,” he said. The NRRA spokesperson, however, offered no ready solutions.
Recyclable material used to be broken down, baled, and sold to Chinese companies for manufacturing. But because so much of it was contaminated, said Durfor, China began enforcing tough standards against contamination, and adding tariffs and import restrictions. That was before the current trade war that added even more tariffs.
The bottom line is that the only market today is for absolutely clean, noncontaminated plastic and cardboard, if it is sorted separately. No market exists for mixed paper, he said.
“Every town in New England is looking at this,” said Durfor.
Claremont, for example, unexpectedly received a notice Monday that its processor for paper and cardboard is temporarily closed, said Victor St. Pierre, the director of public works. “We’re researching it right now,” he told the Eagle Times. “We’re going to have to find a place to take the cardboard.”
Cornish has a particular problem because of the small footprint of its municipal recycling center. A truck depositing or collecting a roll-on, roll-off container might not have enough room to turn around. If home sorting means the center would have to have separate containers for cardboard, glass, aluminum, and plastic, “that’s going to be a problem,” said selectmen Scott Baker.
Cornish is a small town with three selectmen and no town manager, so the practical route to next steps was to put out a sign-up sheet for citizens interested in exploring the practicalities further. Several persons added their names at the end of the meeting.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.