THE FOLLOWING WAS POSTED ON FACEBOOK BY ‘STERLING AGAINST WASTE PROJECT.’ LET’S SEE WHAT THE STERLING MEETINGHOUSE NEWS DOES WITH ITS OPEN LETTER OPPOSING SUSAN ALDRICH AND ‘KEEPING STERLING ACTION COMMITTEE’

“Following is a letter to the editor I emailed to Sterling Meetinghouse News on 9/27/2021.
However, it appears as though anything that opposes the “Keeping Sterling Action Committee” plan to host a commercial regional food waste composting facility in Sterling must not be allowed; “Keeping Sterling” has had two guest columns in Sterling Meetinghouse News and 1 letter to the editor in the past ~6 months.
So, despite the fact that the potential issues I mention in my letter are taken directly from “Best Management Practices” of the MassDEP documents re: food waste composting and from peer-reviewed research papers, my letter is getting special review.

Fortunately, we are no longer reliant on newspapers to bring opposing viewpoints to our residents — public platforms are everywhere. So here is the letter to the editor that I submitted to Sterling Meetinghouse News (for your consideration). Email me at SterlingAgainstWasteProject@gmail.com if you want to join our email list. Thank you.

In “To a Mouse”, Robert Burns wrote “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley” (i.e., “Go often awry”). The commercial Regional Food Waste Composting project proposed to be sited behind the Sterling Police Station illustrates the timelessness of Burns’ adage.
In case you are blissfully unaware of this proposed project, the Sterling DPW recently commissioned a report titled “Town of Sterling Department of Public Works Food Waste Composting Facility Final Report June 23, 2021”
This report took over six months to complete! It was done with the assistance of the private “Keeping Sterling Action Committee” and Blaine Bershad of the DPW Board and other town employees (n.b., Blaine is also a member of the “Keeping Sterling Action Committee”). It remains the only official document regarding this proposed project and I encourage everyone to read it.
The report states : “The Sterling DPW is proposing to develop and operate a food waste composting facility in accordance with a MDEP General Permit (310 CMR 16.04). That permit will allow for up to 105 tons per week, with a maximum of 30 tons per day, of food material.”
And : “The proposed Sterling compost facility is intended to serve residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial food waste generators in the region. The DPW considered contracting with a private operator, but would prefer to operate it with Town staff and equipment”
This “final” report is rife with problems and issues (hence the “best laid schemes” analogy). In fact, it contains so many problems that the “Keeping Sterling Action Committee” has already disavowed this report; they now tell us (in their 9/8/2021 letter to the editor of the Meetinghouse News) that “they have gone back to work” — ostensibly to attempt to produce a less risky regional food waste composting scheme.
Well, don’t be fooled. Because commercial composting facilities are notoriously problematic. Concomitant potential issues include (but are not limited to): leachate / runoff issues; potential gaseous emissions including ammonia (NH3) and bioaerosols; traffic / public safety problems; spontaneous combustion fire risk; vermin, pest, and disease issues; impact on endangered, threatened, and “special concern” species in any surrounding wetlands; odor and dust issues.
Here’s a more prudent proposal for Sterling:

• Scrap the risky regional food waste composting plan
• Encourage Sterling residents to compost their food waste in their own backyards (as some already do)
• Have the town purchase home composters in bulk to sell to Sterling residents at cost
• Ask “Keeping Sterling” to run free classes to educate Sterling residents about composting-at-home techniques
  Barring that, explore utilizing existing food waste composting facilities in Central MA (listed on the MA DEP website).
  In closing, composting is a worthwhile endeavor — but this risky regional scheme is not the answer for Sterling.”

J.G.