Fitchburg-Westminster Odor Complaints and Reponses
The Town of Princeton Selectboard and Board of Health are aware of an increased number of odor complaints in recent weeks and months, related to the Fitchburg-Westminster Landfill.
The Landfill is located at 101 Fitchburg Rd., Westminster, MA. While the Landfill is located primarily in Westminster, a portion of it is also in Fitchburg. The closest point of the landfill to Princeton is approximately 4,000 feet north of the Princeton/Westminster line. The Landfill is operated and managed by Resource Control, Inc. (“RCI”), which is a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. The Landfill has a maximum permitted tonnage of 1,425 tons per day. With its current capacity, it is estimated that the Landfill will remain active through 2032.
The increased number of resident Landfill odor complaints has garnered the attention and action of local and state regulatory bodies. At a September meeting, the Town of Westminster Board of Health decided not to support RCI’s request to expand operating hours at the Landfill. Subsequently, in early October, RCI retracted its request to expand its operating hours at the Landfill while it works on getting odor issues resolved. As of early October, the third-party Odor Complaint observation consultant, Williamson Environmental, LLC, is based on the landfill site, which should result in quicker complaint response observations.
RCI reports that, in 2023, it completed certain improvements to the Landfill Gas Collection and Control System and that it has additional improvements scheduled for completion over the next two months.
Princeton residents are encouraged to register any and all odor complaints observed by calling the Fitchburg-Westminster Landfill 24-Hour Odor Complaint Hotline within one (1) hour of odor observation at (866) 987-0985. Complaints made to the hotline are also sent to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, as well as the Boards of Health in the Town of Princeton, Town of Westminster and City of Fitchburg—allowing for regulatory review and creation of a regulatory record that could be used in enforcement cases. Each complaint made to the hotline within one hour of observation will trigger an odor investigation by a third-party consultant, Williamson Environmental, LLC. The consultant responds to complaints by visiting the complaint location and creating a formal report of observations of odor intensity and hydrogen sulfide levels.
In Princeton, the Board of Health is the entity legally tasked with protecting the public health and the environment in relation to sanitary landfills and garbage and it is authorized to investigate nuisances. You may contact the Board of Health with questions, comments, and concerns at 978-464-2104 and/or via email to the Board of Health Executive Assistant Terri Longtine at tlongtine@town.princeton.ma.us .
For more information on the details and opportunities for registering a Landfill Odor Complaint, please see the Board of Health webpage.