NH COG Director, Rob Phillips, Answers Questions on MIRA Dissolution & the Path Forward

Q: What’s the current status of the MIRA waste transfer station in Torrington? At one point it was rumored that it had been sold to a private company?

A: No, it's not. I'm not sure where that rumor came from, but yeah, no, it's very much still owned by the MIRA Dissolution Authority. MIRA (Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority) was converted by the state… to the MIRA Dissolution Authority (MDA), and their charge is to provide for the orderly and efficient closure, basically, of the MIRA. And so, you know, that's what we're dealing with. That's… basically selling off assets and preparing [to] eliminate their workforce and... close up the doors… There's a decision that's hopefully coming within the next two weeks.

Q: What’s happening with recyclables during all this time?

A: Everything is continuing. Everything is still operating by the MIRA/MDA organization. So everything has been working right along as it always has. It's just that they have to pack up shop, basically, by the end of June this year, and anything left would have to be transferred over to the Department of Administrative Services, and they would have to handle whatever's left. If there's any operational responsibilities, they would have to take care of that. Now they've indicated that they're not really interested in any operational responsibilities, so there's a strong push to kind of really button this up by the end of June… as much as possible.

Q: So they're going to make a decision in the next two weeks, but it's really not going to be settled until the summer?

A: Well, we'll know what direction we can go in over the next two weeks, I believe. That's the indication because of their standing meetings with the finance committee and their board of directors. That's what we anticipate. Can't guarantee anything, like anything else that's subject to votes. We don't know how it's gonna turn out, but we're negotiating in confidence. Obviously, having executive session meetings, there's really not much I can share about that.

Q: And in the meantime, all the things that aren't being recycled, a lot of the plastics, the glass, the ceramics, all the stuff that's single source is just getting shipped out?

A: Right… Whatever is not recycled or disposed of in some way, shape, or form, there is some amount that's going out of state. For example, the Keystone landfill in Pennsylvania. That's a state issue… we can't solve that in our region. The state needs to figure out a way to make ourselves more sustainable instead of relying on another state to take whatever it is that we can't handle.