Freetown close to approving recycling facility on Ridge Hill Road

A national recycling company is at the end stretch toward garnering the necessary Planning Board approval for developing a facility on Ridge Hill Road, according to Planning Board Vice Chairman Keven Desmarais.

Republic Recycling representatives met with the Planning Board on Tuesday, and the board still wants some more traffic design improvements to take place. Specifically, the company has been asked to widen the intersection of Ridge Hill Road and South Main Street to include a third lane. The company is working with adjacent property owners toward land-taking issues, according to Planning Technician Lauren Moreau.

Desmarais said that the improvements will allow some of the tractor trailers traveling north and south to more easily turn into Ridge Hill Road. Desmarais said the traffic mitigation will improve safety.

They didnt balk at it, Desmarais said. They recognized it is good for them and good for us.

Moreau and Desmarais added that the company will add some landscape buffering to the north of that intersection as well.

The hearing on the matter has been postponed until Jan. 7.

Jeff Burdick, the New England and New York company president, could not be reached this week for comment. Earlier this month, Burdick confirmed that the company plans to redevelop the former Weyerhaeuser building on Campanelli Drive. He said there will be infrastructure upgrades to accommodate the 85,000 square foot facilitys blueprint, including road and building upgrades. Burdick said the facility will also employee at least 50 people when it is operating at full capacity.

Burdick said there will be an uptick in truck traffic but it would be restricted to weekdays 6 a.m to 4 p.m. He noted that the facility would also be located next to Route 24, mitigating traffic on South Main Street.

The company takes single stream recycling from the bins of customers, dumps it into an area, feeds it to a hopper and then a conveyor, before people sort it out. It is then neatly transformed into a square bale and sent out for reuse.

Last month, Planning Board Chairman Robert Raymond indicated that the volume of truck traffic will be manageable.

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Freetown close to approving recycling facility on Ridge Hill Road