Selectmen Vote to Suspend Operations at Richardson Road Recycling Facility

Chelmsford residents will still have curbside recycling, but if they want to recycle other items they’ll have to wait, at least for now.

Following a discussion at Monday’s Board of Selectmen meeting, all recycling at the town’s current recycling center on Richardson Road at the town’s old Department of Public Works facility has been suspended, with the future of the recycling center itself now in doubt following the majority of the DPW heading to its recently expanded site on Alpha Road.

Concerns over the facility impacting North Chelmsford’s water supply, as well as confusion over what should be sent to the facility and what should be sent elsewhere led to the move, solidified by a failed motion to keep the facility open for four months and explore other potential sites.

No one on the board felt comfortable with disposal of lightbulbs or mercury filled items, but opinions varied.

On one side, there was Chairman Matt Hanson, who voted with Pat Wotjas to keep the recycling facility open while also sending out new information to alleviate confusion over what could and could not be recycled there.

However, he asked representatives of the North Chelmsford Water District if they would feel comfortable with the more limited recycling facility, North Chelmsford Water District chairman Bruce Clark said he would not feel comfortable even with a temporary facility due to the Water District’s wells all being in the vicinity and information provided by the town contrasted with Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection mandates on the property.

On the other side, Selectman Jim Lane who felt the site was not suited for such a facility and referred to documents stating the building housing the facility was structurally unsound, with Janet Askenburg also fearing the site would impact the town’s water supply.

Still, Lane said he was comfortable with housing dumpsters for cardboard there on a temporary basis outside of the building, as residents were still bringing their cardboard to town hall, where it had been dealt with up until the beginning of construction on the new fire station this weekend.

Town Manager Paul Cohen told the board he had searched over the past five weeks for another site for the recycling facility and could not find one, adding that if the Selectmen wanted to find a new facility site, they should decide immediately so funding could be obtained at Fall Town Meeting.

If cardboard recycling were taken out of town, Recycling Coordinator Nick Parlee said that it would cost approximately $4,000 a year to send to an incinerator, versus the $2,500 the town collects in fees for recycling it now.

Some DPW mechanics are expected to temporarily stay on the site, which is also eventually slated to host the new Chelmsford Dog Park.

An open house for the new DPW site is scheduled for July 17.