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28 CONNECTICUT GREEN GUIDE • SUMMER 2015 www.CTGreenGuide.com 1982 Hartford leased the landfill to CRRA, which used it to deposit waste from the Mid-Con- necticut Project waste-to-energy plant. 1992 The gas flare and landfill gas recovery system were installed and activated to reduce odors emanating from the landfill. 2008 Landfill receives final delivery, capping process begins. one day when landfills and trash- to-energy facilities won't be neces- sary. Efforts to use waste for more productive purposes include anaero- bic digesters to turn food waste into power plant fuel and product stew- ardships to make consumers and manufacturers of products like paint and mattresses responsible for their end-of-life use. The landfill itself now is focused on cleaner uses as well. In June, it became Connecticut's first landfill to install a solar array, when a 1 megawatt system began generating electricity. MIRA has a contract with electric utility Eversource Energy to sell the array's renewable energy credits through 2028. "It's a win-win from our per- spective," said David Bodendorf, MIRA senior environmental engi- neer. "We're used to a landfill being an eyesore, and we're proposing a project that the public and state regulators can get behind." Bodendorf said the existence of the solar array was the result of new technologies MIRA used in the fourth and final phase of the landfill capping, using a special surface that supports the installa- tion plus other uses. Because of Hartford, closed landfills in Shelton, Waterbury and Ellington are considering solar or other uses, said Bodendorf. The solar system, though, is just part of the long-term planning for the landfill, Isner said. "What used to be an issue of environmental justice and having a negative impact on the commu- nity has turned into a positive for the host community," said Marilyn Cruz-Aponte, assistant to the direc- tor of Hartford public works. Cruz-Aponte said the city contin- ues to solicit ideas for other uses for the property, including establishing a greenhouse, planting a wild meadow to attract wildlife, and encourag - Green Fact: With the Hartford Landfill closed, Connecticut has 28 active landfill sites. SOURCE: DEEP The Hartford Landfill also captures the gas collected from the rotting garbage to be repurposed as a power plant fuel. PHOTO | HBJ FILE The electricity generated by the solar array is collected and sent to the power grid. PHOTO | PABLO ROBLES