TORRINGTON – The baler operated by the City of Torrington Sanitation Department will be closed to the public on evenings and weekends, limiting hours of access to Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Ed Hawley, head of the Sanitation Department, started locking the gate before heading home for the day, closing off dumping areas for tree branches and grass. Hawley said the reduction in hours was necessary due to residents’ misuse of the machinery meant only to process grass and tree limbs.

“There were people dumping railroad ties, timber, literally garbage,” Hawley said. “So it was almost getting to be a daily event to go and clean that stuff up.”

Residents used to pick up compost made from the grass for their gardens and lawns, Hawley said. Now, it’s littered with bottles, railroad ties and other garbage rendering it unusable. Trash is also tangled amid the brush that is usually burned once per year, which is Hawley’s biggest problem. 

Mayor Randy Adams addressed the problem at an Aug. 4 Torrington City Council meeting.

“That material that is brought in is used for composting, and is given away to the public free of charge,” Adams said. “Unfortunately, because when irresponsible people have thrown their garbage in with the grass and limbs, rendering it unusable for recycling, that opportunity has ended,” Adams said. “So from now on, please check in at the baler when you’re bringing the grass and limbs in. Weekend and evening access is closed.”

The free service was previously used “basically 24/7,” Hawley said. Now, the gates are closed in the evenings and on weekends, ironically when residents have more time to clean their houses and yards. Hawley said one worker drove up to the gate last Saturday, when it was closed, to find five cars waiting to get in.

He said he did not have many of the problems he is having this year in years past.

“It seemed to start come spring, about the time COVID-19 did, and people were staying home so they just were doing a lot of cleaning,” Hawley said. “I think they just got to the point where they would wait until after hours for fear of having to pay a charge or something. So they’d just come down and dump it out there.”

In addition to debris in grass dumped at the baler, one sanitation worker found an oven in one of the grass bins located around town, Hawley said. 

“We just had to start policing it,” Hawley said. “We have a place for trash and always have. If you don’t want to read the signs, follow the rules, we have to close.”

Hawley said he’ll explore reopening the area if the trash problem subsides, but for now, residents have to check in at the baler with their debris during regular business hours.