Understanding C&D, MSW, Bulky Waste, & Brush
The HRRA contract definition of “Acceptable Solid Waste” means all Solid Waste, including without limitation household garbage and home remodeling waste and debris not exceeding four (4) feet in any of its dimensions, Recyclable Material (as hereinafter defined), Other Acceptable Waste (as hereinafter defined), trash, rubbish, refuse, combustible agricultural, commercial, governmental and light industrial waste, but excluding hazardous waste.
The reason for the (4) feet in any of its dimension's limitation has to do with the hopper at the waste-to-energy plant and why we collect bulky separately from MSW. See below.
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) typically is stuff that comes from our homes that is in our household garbage bins, it’s material that can’t be recycled but it can also include other trash items that don’t fit in your bin that you no longer want such as broken toys, a broken laundry basket, etc. We allow items under 4’ in the MSW stream. So, it can also include area rugs, small chairs, small desk, pet beds, etc. MSW collected at the Ridgefield Transfer Station is loaded onto a 100-yard trucks and transported directly to the WIN Waste Innovations waste-to-energy plant where it is incinerated.
Bulky MSW are large items over 4’ in any dimension such as broken furniture, i.e. couch, desk, dresser, piano, a wet mattresses that cannot be recycled. These items are taken to the Danbury transfer station AND then processed and broken down into smaller pieces with equipment so that it can then be aggregated with regular MSW and loaded onto 100-yard trucks and transported to the waste-to-energy plant where it is incinerated. Large items over 4’ can clog the hopper inside the waste-to-energy plant creating operational issues. The plant can reject loads that have large items or charge a contamination fee increasing the cost of disposal.
C&D (Construction and Demolition Debris) is material from construction projects such as scrap wood, decking, sheet rock, shingles, cabinets, sinks, tubs, pipes, windows. This material is sent to the Danbury Transfer Station where it is sorted and processed and any material that can be reclaimed and recycled is removed. The rest is put on rail cars and shipped to out of state landfills.
Brush and Storm Debris is just yard debris that consist of small branches and brush from land clearing. There should be no MSW or C&D mixed with this material. This material should not be mixed into Bulky MSW or C&D. Co-mingling material is a violation of the Master Transfer Station General Permit as well as Interstate Waste Service’s permit to accept and process material.