Fairfield reports contamination below 10% after haulers return contaminated loads

Fairfield officials told the Solid Waste and Recycling Commission on Feb. 9 that recycling contamination was under the 10% threshold in the most recent month and that private haulers have been proactive in returning contaminated loads to their own facilities.

Department Director John Catell reported, "We had no contamination this last month," and credited both transfer station staff and haulers for the improvement. Catell said a few truckloads (about three tons) of contaminated material were returned and handled by the haulers themselves rather than assessed to the town.

Commission members discussed continuing resident education — including signage reminding people recycling must be "loose, clean, and dry" — and noted sticker campaigns have been slowed by cold weather, which affects adhesive performance. John Mazzaro and other hauler representatives said they have been applying stickers and screening materials at curbside to prevent contamination entering the stream.

During public comment, a speaker recommended reviewing East Hartford’s recycling campaign, saying it had saved that municipality about $200,000 in contamination costs; commissioners suggested the town could "cherry pick" lower‑cost, transferable tactics while recognizing some of the contamination reduction may be the result of hauler practices rather than resident behavior change alone.

No formal policy change was adopted; commissioners directed staff to continue outreach, signage and coordination with haulers.