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NORWALK, Conn. There's a "sense of urgency" at City Carting's Norwalk transfer station now, according to owner Michael Ferro. That's in response to recent complaints and objections from council members and others.
Ferro made the comment at a midday news briefing called by Mayor Richard Moccia and Council President Carvin Hilliard, R-District B, at City Carting's Meadow Street facility. Moccia said he wanted to correct statements that were made before City Carting won a 10-year contract to pick up Norwalk's garbage.
Moccia emphasized that the Meadow Street facility will not receive additional garbage because of the new contract. He and other officials have been meeting with the company to discuss the complaints. The final step in the process, he said, was to have a news conference to "let City Carting make the presentation of some of the changes they want to make to correct some of the problems" and address the concerns of council members.
After listing the techniques City Carting takes to prevent odors, Ferro said, "I have to be honest with you, those measures were in place before the complaints came. I don't know if there's anything else we can do. ... I should back up just a little bit. We have more sense of urgency now if a load comes in and it smells."
The company keeps a trailer inside the bay, where smelly loads are put "right away," covered and taken away, he said. The company started hearing complaints about the smell "just recently," he said. Now, when a smelly load comes in, "it may not sit there for five minutes or 15 minutes before it gets in the trailer."
Also, for about the past two weeks, loaded trailers have not been left on the property, although the company is allowed to leave them outside for 48 hours per state regulations.
Standard procedures include a deodorizing system that runs on a timer, "24/7," he said. Supermarket garbage, which can be smelly because it sits in a trailer for up to two weeks, is diverted to Bridgeport, although that costs the company money.
"I don't mean to be facetious about this it is a trash dump," Moccia said. "It is garbage coming in, and unless somebody can figure out a way to deodorize it out of the containers there's not much we can do on a 100-degree day. I think they've taken as many measures as possible to react to some of the concerns of some of the councilmen."
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