Letter from Mary Ann Whelan

Transfer Station Dispute Continues

The recent letter in response to criticisms of the Northern Transfer station by the Oneonta division manager overstates the virtues of said facility. It is inconceivable that anyone could take “great pride” in that facility when Casella is ranked in the bottom 25 percent on ZoomInfo with regard to management, and at the bottom of seven competing businesses.

Casella is located in Vermont and it is difficult to believe that the division manager has ever been on site (she could not be reached for comment). I would be interested in the compliments allegedly received: Perhaps they could be published? There has been no detectable interest in cleaning up the litter along the “fence” until the publication of a complaint. The division manager implies that despite hiring efforts they have been forced to rely on their other “staff members” and says it is “no small task,” but that is because they aren’t hired for enough time to attend to it.

Her comment about the County Board responsibility is off point: I was informed by the prior county solid waste management person that it was their responsibility beyond the rail, but that he had been unable to come up with the necessary funds. The busted-down snow fence, meant to keep trash from blowing into the field below it, has been (ineffectually) present for at least three years. Somebody please fix it. It would probably take about 20 minutes to
pull up and perhaps another hour to replace.

Recycling does not go into a covered dumpster as claimed. It goes into a rusting-out bin that has holes in the sides and permanently open areas where the recyclables are put in, as anyone who takes their recycling there knows. When the weather comes from the right direction rain and snow get in: This Monday, for example, I photographed some snow-covered material. From those bins it is transferred to covered storage at the site (the adjacent ground being covered with trash) and then hauled away to a recycling center, but wet cardboard is not recyclable.

The area where one stands to put the recyclables into these bins is muddy or menacingly icy, depending on the season.

The site was much better managed under MOSA, and Casella’s contract should be reconsidered.

Mary Anne Whelan
Cooperstown