Letter from Mary Anne Whelan
Transfer Station Still Under Review
I want to pass on that I did, after my last letter, hear from the regional director of the “transfer station.” Also, that she lives in Oneonta and has in fact previously visited it. We agreed to meet there today and she came with three other members of Casella and the Otsego County Director of Solid Waste Management. We reviewed the situation.
An important fact to be considered is that the recycling processing center in Albany, to which our material intended for recycling is sent, charges by weight of what is sent. Since the bins into which we place our material to be recycled are open to the weather, the cardboard in them becomes wet. Material is weighed when it reaches Sierra Processing, the facility which first handles and sorts the material before sending it on to the Albany center.
Wet cardboard weighs a lot more than dry cardboard and, as the person I talked to at Sierra confirmed, “You are paying for snow.” They charge Casella: Casella charges the county which, of course, charges the taxpayers. So, because Casella does not provide coverable bins, the costs are increased.
The issue of the trash that blows into the field remains unresolved. The plastic snow fence that is supposed to prevent this is the responsibility of the county per their director, since they own the land, but that person said they couldn’t afford to replace it. It has been busted for years now. A Casella representative said that they, Casella, put it up—maybe a year ago—but it has been in that condition much longer. Other people said that the county had put it up. I called Bruce Hall to inquire about its price. It is $50.00 for a 50-foot roll, so a couple of hundred feet was roughly estimated at less than $200.00. It seems most likely to be a county responsibility and they should replace it. If they do, I will offer to pay for it. Casella should pick up the trash that accumulates before it reaches that fence, which they did immediately after my first letter was printed. They claimed to do it regularly but I have never—in years—seen it cleaned up before.
Maybe every spring.
A great deal was blamed on the wind conditions, and other factors.
Mary Anne Whelan
Cooperstown
My husband, Lee, worked many years at the Northern transfer station with Karen Sullivan as his supervisor. He would take pride in keeping the area clean, that included the flying papers. He would pick them up as the wind blew everything everywhere. He was a good worker and enjoyed his job.
Sue Winnie
My husband, Lee, worked many years at the Northern transfer station with Karen Sullivan as his supervisor. He would take pride in keeping the area clean, that included the flying papers. He would pick them up as the wind blew everything everywhere. He was a good worker and enjoyed his job.
Sue Winnie