Garbage Museum's Fate Up For Review

Stratford's Garbage Museum has a pulse.

To keep from closing, the museum had to raise anywhere between $60,000 and $100,000, according to Paul Nonnenmacher, director of public affairs for the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA), which owns and operates the museum.

And as of July 5, $68,000 had been raised in pledges from five of the 10 municipalities that use the adjoining regional recycling center, said Nonnenmacher.

The CRRA Board of Directors - which gave the fundraising order - will meet tomorrow, July 7, to decide whether or not that figure is enough to keep the 16-year-old museum afloat.

"There's a wide range of possibilities," said Nonnenmacher. "They could lock the doors [tomorrow] or keep it going."

He said if the board determines "enough progress has been made in pledges," more fundraising would still be required to account for the museum's projected $340,000 operating cost budget in the next fiscal year, which started July 1. In years past, the adjacent recycling facility funded the museum. But since 2009, nine cities and towns have stopped using the center and that, coupled with rising commodity prices, has stripped the museum of its primary funding, said Nonnenmacher.

"We're selling fewer tons [of recyclables], for less money," he said. "There's no longer cash being thrown off to pay for the museum and its educational programs."

The museum - which features Trash-o-saurus, a dinosaur made out of a ton of rubbish - garners about 31,000 visitors a year, according to Anna MacDonald, a part-time educator at the museum that is located at 1410 Honeyspot Road Extension. She said the artist made the sculpture weigh one ton because that is the amount of garbage the average person throws away in a year.

"The kids love to look at him," said MacDonald. "We do a scavenger hunt game and I ask them to find different things on Trash-o-saurus." [See photos]

Stratford Pledges $20,000

Last week, the town of Stratford approved a payment of 75 cents for every ton recycled at the plant in the next year, which is the figure CRRA Chairman Michael Pace asked mayors and first selectmen to contribute, according to Nonnenmacher. If the total is the same as last year, Stratford would donate about $20,000, according to Marc Dillon, chief of staff to Mayor John Harkins. 

Dillon said the donation was backed, in part, by the start of single-stream recycling on July 1, which makes it easier for residents to recycle because items do not have to be sorted out. The chief of staff said it will save the town money because more items will be recycled and less trash will be disposed of. [See attached PDF for more on single-stream recycling]

"The more [residents] take out of their garbage, the better off the town is," said Dillon.

"Every ton of garbage costs [municipalities] at least $64 to get rid off," said Nonnenmacher. "Every ton of recycling costs them zero. It's simple arithmetic."

If the board decides to keep the museum open and gives the go-ahead to continue fundraising, Nonnenmacher is hoping that Bridgeport comes around to the math. He said Bridgeport made a pledge of $4,180 via a Community Development Block Grant, but if you take the formula of 75 cents for every ton of recycled items at the center last year, the town's requested donation climbs to $44,817.

"I know [Bridgeport] Mayor [Bill] Finch is very proud of his record of environmental activism," said Nonnenmacher. "Because of that, I hope he'll come around."

The CRRA Board of Directors will hold the meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m. at its Hartford office, which is located at 100 Constitution Plaza. It is open to the public.