Waste and recycling facility proposed in Connecticut

A new waste and recycling facility has been proposed in the city of New London, Connecticut. According to a report in The Day, Jason Manafort, principal of Connecticut Waste Processing Materials LLC and Four Realty LLC is seeking approval for a 26,382-square-foot facility on 3 acres of land that used to be a railroad maintenance yard near an existing rail line.

The application to the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission indicates the facility would receive nonhazardous solid waste and recyclable materials, including oversized municipal solid waste (MSW) and recyclables, construction and demolition (C&D) debris, wood, scrap metal, electronics and regular trash.

Manafort reportedly plans to build a railroad spur to enable materials to be shipped out by railcar, similar to a facility he operates in Berlin, Connecticut.

The application also indicates the up to 10 jobs would be created.

A public hearing for the plan is scheduled for 7 p.m. July 20, 2017, during a commission meeting at City Hall.

According to the report, Manafort was sentenced to a month in federal prison back in 2007 in a sweep by law enforcement of more than two dozen in a federal investigation into racketeering and price-fixing among waste haulers in Connecticut and eastern New York, The Day says, during a probe that targeted James Galante, who at the time controlled more than two dozen waste disposal companies in the state.

This should not impact the city’s decision, according to one official who cited Manafort’s philanthropic and business successes.