CHARLESTON - At last Thursday’s selectboard meeting in Charleston, a resident alleged that a local property is being used as a commercial composted and is illegally handling food waste. Neighbor Erin Sheridan told the selectboard that food scraps are being dumped on the Roger French and Kathleen Lyford property on Crawford Hill Road and complained about the odor and safety concerns. She found a sympathetic ear.Â
"They are commercial composters who bring it (food scraps) to their land," Sheridan said. "They feed their chickens with some of it, but the neighbor's dogs get into it and get sick."
Sheridan said the "facility" is not permitted, and they're bringing a lot of food scraps to the site.
Board Chair Patrick Austin had a family operated trash hauling business and now is employed by Casella Waste Systems. He also serves as the town's supervisor on the Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District board (NEKWMD).Â
Austin explained that there is a small farm chicken exemption rule that waives the requirement to be permitted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. The exemption applies only if all of the food scraps are used as chicken feed.
Austin is familiar with the company (NEK Community Compost) which he said has changed names several times. The company is no longer registered with NEKWMD as required by law if the business is picking up compost as a commercial entity.
"I saw the food 20 feet off the road and in the right of way," Austin said of a visit to the site. "It's complicated; how do we stop it?"
The NEKWMD is responsible for compliance, but to date no action has been taken. The district is credited by the state for the amount of waste that is diverted from landfills. Food scraps collected by unregistered food scrap haulers aren't counted toward the state's food diversion goals.
For the rest of the story see Tuesday's Express
