East Haddam Transfer Station Accident Halts Commercial Hauling

On Friday, June 7, an accident took place at the Transfer Station in East Haddam that damaged the commercial hopper, but no one was injured. While residents can still bring their trash to the Transfer Station, no commercial hauling can take place until further notice. 

"While a contractor was on the backside unloading, the entire dumpster let loose and fell into the hopper," explained Beth Lunt, Administrator of Public Works. "The whole entire dumpster that was attached the the truck broke went in."

"It was a pretty bad accident," said First Selectman Mark Walter. "It punched right into the hopper resulting in an emergency closure."

"For individual homeowners and residents, the operation of the Transfer Station has not changed," said Lunt. "It is the commercial haulers that in affects. They will now go directly to our waste contractors in Willimantic."

Since commercial haulers are not charged any fees at the transfer station, the accident will not affect any funds brought into the town.

"Currently, their are no time frame estimates as for restoration," continued Lunt. "We will have to have a structural engineer come in and evaluate the structural integrity."

"As far as the cost of repair," Lunt concluded. "The town will front the money and then the insurance of the party responsible for causing the damage will be held accountable for paying back those expenses."