Enfield-based Murphy Road Recycling is piling up municipal contracts for curbside collections as communities end deals with the agency that runs the trash-to-energy plant in Hartford. The Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority now serves 48 communities, but 14 have opted out of agreements for the next fiscal year and “we may see a few more” before an April 8 deadline, MIRA president and CEO Tom Kirk said. Hartford is among the municipalities to make the switch to Murphy Road, which has a transfer facility in the South Meadows and a new $30 million recycling facility in Berlin.
City officials are finalizing a five-year agreement, with an option for two more five-year terms, Public Works Director Michael Looney said. Based on the quoted tip fee from MIRA of $111 per ton compared with $103 per ton with Murphy, the city likely will save about $265,000 in tip fees next fiscal year, Looney said. Manchester also recently announced a switch from MIRA to a two-year deal with Murphy Road. As a prominent player in the region’s waste management industry, Public Works Director Tim Bockus said, the company has “a firm understanding of the town of Manchester’s desire to be a leader in how we manage our waste and will be a valuable resource in helping us to be a more resilient and sustainably focused community.”
Community leaders have cited uncertainty about the future of MIRA as one reason to switch service. Rock-bottom energy prices and the refusal of state and municipal leaders to fund upgrades to the power plant in Hartford prompted MIRA’s decision in 2020 to stop burning garbage this year at its Maxim Road facility and truck it to out-of-state landfills.