GEORGETOWN – A new era in trash management for North Shore communities is beginning with pre-construction of a new circular path through the land at the end of Carlton Drive, once owned by the Mirra Corp.
Construction of the 500-ton transfer station near Interstate 95 to be operated by the G. Mello Disposal Corp. will begin next spring, according to recent testimony by the company at a meeting before the town’s Planning Board.
Large equipment, used to clear the future roadway, including a 30-foot access driveway, are parked at the end of Carlton Road, and erosion control tubes have been installed. The facility will occupy 14.57 acres of land.
The 15,000-square-foot facility, which will operate as a 150-ton trash station for the first two years, have cleared its final hurdles with town boards and commissions. The Board of Health approved the station without being ordered to by the state Land Court. The Planning Commission and the Conservation Commission denied Mello a permit, but were reversed by the court.
The facility will handle up to 150 tons a day initially, followed in year three at 350 tons per day, 450 tons a day in the fourth year and 550 tons a day in year five.
The SelectBoard and Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco are working on a proposed a host agreement with Mello for the station. A host agreement, if approved, could require Mello to pay fees to the town for having the station in town, as it does now for its smaller and out-of-date Main Street facility.
Several of the most outspoken residents of the station have expressed despair that the town cannot stop construction of the station. “All legal cases are now closed,” emailed Mike Birmingham, a leader of the opposition to the station. “The final conditions are on the mass web site. Good chuckle of a read. Construction probably will start this month.”
The town has been sharply divided for years over Mello’s proposal to build the station with critics claiming Georgetown residents do not need such a large facility. It is expected that trucks from other communities and businesses will bring trash to the facility, which will sort it and transfer it to large trucks that will take it to incinerators and other disposal facilities.
A main objection is that the large trucks will have to use narrow Carleton Drive and turn onto state Highway 133, a busy road that serves Georgetown.
The town planning board secured conditions that require the trucks to turn east at the intersection of Carlton Drive and state highway 133 and not pass through town. A police detail will manage traffic for the first several weeks of operation. If needed, that detail can be extended.
Mello also agreed to rebuild Carleton Drive to withstand the weight of the trucks and homeowner traffic to the facility.
