State fines Kondelin Road recycling center
Sep. 6—The Connecticut owner of a Kondelin Road recycling center has been fined for violations of state solid waste regulations.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has assessed a $32,337 penalty to Eastern Waste Services, LLC, of Clinton, Conn., for accepting solid waste it was not permitted to take during the operation of its Essex County Recycling Center in Gloucester.
The company holds a permit that allows only pre-sorted recyclable materials to be accepted at the Kondelin Road facility. After receiving a complaint in September 2021, a MassDEP inspection determined that the company was accepting mixed construction and demolition (C&D) waste — including wood, metal, plastic, rubber, and house-siding — from various contractors. The C&D materials were dumped out in the open in the storage yard and then processed into 100-cubic-yard transfer trailers on the property.
As required, the recycling center has not been granted a site assignment by the Gloucester Board of Health to operate as a C&D processing facility and has not been issued any permits by MassDEP to operate a solid waste handling facility.
In a consent order with MassDEP, Eastern Waste Services is required to stop receiving solid waste, including C&D waste, at the Essex County Recycling Center, stop any C&D storage on-site and remove all solid waste materials. The company must also pay $20,000 of the assessed fine; the remainder will be suspended if there are no further violations over the next year.
"The recycling permit for this facility is very specific and requires that only pre-sorted recyclable materials can be delivered and processed as a way to protect the local environment and the public health," said Eric Worrall, director of MassDEP's Northeast Regional Office in Wilmington, in a prepared statement. "The handling of C&D waste involves a much more comprehensive permitting process that involves town officials and significant input from local residents."
