In the early 1970s, Connecticut residents were becoming increasingly interested in the environment. It was becoming apparent that the old “town dump” wasn’t the most environmentally sound way to get rid of garbage. So under the leadership of Gov. Thomas J. Meskill the General Assembly created the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, a quasi-public agency that would develop a comprehensive waste management program including

• Trash-to-energy plants that would turn garbage into electricity while reducing by as much as 80 percent the amount of waste going into landfills;
• Modern, engineered lined disposal facilities for non-processible waste and ash from the waste-to-energy plants; and
• Recycling.

You can learn more about CRRA’s history in this timeline.

Over the years, CRRA has gone through a number of changes, some of which occurred in the wake of the Enron bankruptcy in 2001. Today, CRRA is solid operationally and financially and planning for the future.