Connecticut City Hearing Comments over Recycling Facility

The Essex, Connecticut, zoning commission is expected to open public hearings Jan. 12 on proposals for a disposal facility for concrete and demolition debris.

Calamari Recycling Inc. had received a special permit from the commission in October 1998 for a scrap metals recycling facility on a portion of the 14-acre Essex Auto Salvage property. The company wants to amend the permit to accept concrete and demolition debris.

The property, located in a municipal-industrial zone near Exit 4 off Route 9, abuts parcels that contain the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority's regional solid-waste transfer station and a regional household hazardous-waste disposal facility that is now under construction.

Staye said the proposed special permit would allow the company to accept and process concrete and demolition debris, including wood and plastics, from Essex and surrounding towns. The plan calls for the processing to occur in a 105-foot by 105-foot metal building.

The 1998 permit allowed the company to accept and process scrap metals, including junk appliances. It limited the height of any piles of scrap metal to a maximum of 35 feet and prohibited acceptance of closed metal containers that might contain fluids. Hartford (Connecticut) Courant