Plainfield Trash Facts

The facts on the proposed trash plant
Plainfield, Connecticut

About this site

About This Site

Plainfield Trash Facts is a resident-run, non-partisan information project about the proposed SMART Technology Systems waste-to-energy gasification plant in Plainfield, Connecticut. Every factual claim is tied first to a primary, official, or peer-reviewed source; news reporting is used only to corroborate, never as the sole support for a scientific or quantitative claim.

This page states plainly what the site is, the standard by which it selects and ranks its sources, and how to reach us with a correction. It makes very few factual claims of its own; the ones it does make are cited below.

What this is

What This Site Is

This is a resident-run, non-partisan information project about a single subject: the proposed SMART Technology Systems LLC waste-to-energy gasification plant on approximately 81 acres at Norwich Road and Black Hill Road in Plainfield, Connecticut, on a parcel in a residential zone.25 The developer describes the project as using gasification technology to convert refuse-derived fuel to synthesis gas, with anaerobic digestion and carbon capture; that description is the developer’s own, stated in its filing on the state regulatory record, its public response to CT DEEP’s materials-management infrastructure request for information.3

The proposal is on the public record with the state. Connecticut’s environmental justice statute, C.G.S. Sec. 22a-20a, requires the owner of a proposed “affecting facility” in an environmental justice community to prepare a meaningful public participation plan as part of the permitting process,1 and CT DEEP has such a plan on file for this project at that address.2

The plant is a live application. It remains a proposal under active review by state agencies, and no final permit decision has been issued. DEEP air and solid waste applications have been filed, but as of April 2026 no Notice of Tentative Determination had been issued, so no public comment window had opened, and no application had been filed with the Connecticut Siting Council.46 The purpose of this site is to set out what is proposed, where it stands, and how a resident can be heard, in plain language, with the source behind every number.

Sourcing standard

How Every Claim Is Sourced

Accuracy is the entire purpose of this site, so the standard is stated openly and applied to every page. Sources are ranked, and for each load-bearing fact the highest tier available is cited, with independent corroboration wherever a second qualifying source exists.

The source hierarchy, strongest first

  • Tier 1 — primary and peer-reviewed. Peer-reviewed scientific literature, and government or regulatory primary documents: CT DEEP records, Connecticut Siting Council dockets and decisions, EPA Superfund site records, USGS publications, the Connecticut General Statutes, court opinions, and official datasets and permit documents. These come first.
  • Tier 2 — technical and agency analysis. Technical and agency reports, and the analyses of established expert organizations, used to interpret the primary record.
  • Tier 3 — news coverage. Reporting from Connecticut and national outlets. News is supporting only. It is never the sole support for a scientific, technical, or quantitative claim, and it is always listed last.

The rules applied to every fact

  • Highest tier cited. Where a fact exists in a state or federal record, that record is the source, ahead of any news account of the same fact.
  • More than one source where they exist. Key facts carry two or more independent sources, with at least one from Tier 1, so no single account has to be taken on trust.
  • Both figures when the record disagrees. Where the developer’s materials and independent records give different numbers, both are shown rather than the more convenient one.
  • Verified before published. Each source is read to confirm it actually states the claim. A claim that cannot be tied to a real, reachable, adequate source is left off the site.
  • Reported concerns labeled as such. A worry voiced at a public meeting is presented as a reported concern, never as an established scientific finding.
  • Corrections welcome. If a fact here is wrong or out of date, we want to fix it. See the contact note below.

Company marketing materials are not treated as neutral sources. The site rests its numbers on the public record, so the developer’s promotional pages are not cited; where a figure originates with the developer, it is taken from the developer’s own filings on the state regulatory record and labeled plainly as the developer’s stated figure, never presented as an independent finding. The complete list of every source used across the site is kept in one place in the evidence library.

Contact & corrections

Contact and Corrections

If you have a correction, a source, or a question, we want to hear it. Corrections are checked against the original record, and a page is updated when the record supports the change.

Get in touch

Contact details will be added here.

Questions and answers

About This Site: Questions and Answers

What is Plainfield Trash Facts?

It is a resident-run, non-partisan information project about the proposed SMART Technology Systems waste-to-energy gasification plant in Plainfield, Connecticut. Every factual claim links first to a primary, official, or peer-reviewed source.25

Who runs this site?

It is run by residents of the Plainfield area. It carries no party name or candidate. Contact details will be added here.

How does this site choose and rank its sources?

Primary and peer-reviewed records come first: peer-reviewed studies and government primary documents such as CT DEEP records, the Connecticut Siting Council, the Connecticut General Statutes, and the EPA. Technical and agency analyses come next, and news reporting is used last, only to corroborate. News is never the sole support for a scientific or quantitative claim.

Does every fact have more than one source?

Key facts do, wherever two independent qualifying sources exist, with at least one from the primary or peer-reviewed tier. Where only one solid source exists, one is used, and it is a primary or official record rather than a news account.

How do I report an error or suggest a correction?

Corrections are welcome and are checked against the original record before any change is made. Contact details will be added here.

Where does the plant application currently stand?

It remains a proposal under active review by state agencies, and no final permit decision has been issued. DEEP air and solid waste applications have been filed, but as of April 2026 no public comment window had opened and no application had been filed with the Connecticut Siting Council.46

Sources

Where These Facts Come From

Sources are grouped by tier, strongest first, and numbered continuously so each footnote above resolves to its entry.

Official & regulatory sources

  1. Connecticut General Statutes, Sec. 22a-20a, “Environmental justice community” (defines an environmental justice community and an “affecting facility,” and sets the meaningful public participation plan, public participation report, notice of tentative determination, and permit-denial framework for such a facility). cga.ct.gov (Chapter 439)
  2. CT DEEP, Environmental Justice Public Participation Plan on file for SMART Technology Systems LLC, Norwich Road / Black Hill Road, Plainfield (primary filing; identifies the developer and the parcel location). portal.ct.gov (PDF)
  3. SMART Technology Systems LLC, “Public Response to Connecticut DEEP Materials Management Infrastructure Request for Information” (the developer’s own filing on the state regulatory record; source for the developer’s stated technology description — gasification of refuse-derived fuel to synthesis gas, anaerobic digestion, and carbon capture — and the developer’s stated capacity, recycling, and emissions claims, which are the developer’s figures rather than independent findings). portal.ct.gov (PDF)
  4. Connecticut Siting Council, Applications and Other Pending Matters (no SMART Technology Systems, O&G, or gasification / waste-to-energy docket is listed; the only Plainfield matter is Docket 550, an unrelated 50 MW-AC solar application by Verogy). portal.ct.gov/CSC

Scientific & technical studies

This page makes no scientific or technical claim of its own; it states the site’s sourcing standard. The peer-reviewed and technical literature that underpins the site’s scientific pages is indexed in the full evidence library.

News coverage

  1. Foundation for Fair Contracting of Connecticut, “Plainfield opposing plans for a trash to energy plant in a residential zone” (81-acre parcel, residential zone, Norwich Road / Black Hill Road, SMART Technology Systems LLC). ffcct.org
  2. Norwich Bulletin via AOL, “Here’s the status of the proposed trash-to-energy plant in Plainfield” (DEEP air permit and solid waste plan filed; no Notice of Tentative Determination or public comment window; town and Siting Council filings not yet made as of April 2026). aol.com

See the full evidence library →