Top: Aerated static pile demonstration pilot at Stonington Town Transfer Station.

With support from the Town of Stonington, the Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resources Recovery Authority (SCRRRA) is running a four-month food scraps composting demonstration project at the Stonington Town Transfer Station. The project launched on June 30, 2021, with consulting assistance from SCS Engineers. SCRRRA manages approximately 135,000 tons/year of garbage for its 12 member municipalities (East Lyme, Griswold, Groton, Ledyard, Montville, Preston, New London, Norwich, North Stonington, Sprague, Stonington, and Waterford).  About one-quarter of the volume of garbage, or 33,750 tons, is organic waste.

The aerated static pile composting process in the SCRRRA demonstration project uses wood mulch produced by SCRRRA at the Stonington Transfer Station and food scraps supplied by two Connecticut companies — Blue Earth Composting of Hartford and Willimantic Waste of Willimantic. The demonstration project is an integral part of a larger study that SCRRRA has undertaken to determine the feasibility of developing a full-scale food waste composting facility in Southeastern Connecticut.