Tom Herman and other members of the New Canaan Conservation Commission pushed staff to make transfer-station performance data accessible to the public, asking for a simple spreadsheet showing vendors, monthly tonnages and payments and exploring a partnership with Planet New Canaan to publish the material.

The request came during an extended discussion about transfer-station operations. Tiger, the station staff member who briefed the commission, said redeemables pickups are now about every two weeks and that curbside food-scrap collection is “still averaging about 2 and a half, 2.4 tons a month.” Tiger told the commission that overall monthly tonnage and broad categories — municipal solid waste, construction debris and recycling — are straightforward to report but that the operation cannot easily break those loads into finer material types once material is combined for collection or hauling.

Herman proposed offloading the work of data normalization and publication to a third party such as Planet New Canaan so the commission’s role would be to provide the raw vendor receipts and tonnage. "We could ask Planet New Canaan, but a third party did the reporting for us, and our job was just to get the data on what material is leaving the station," Herman said. Tiger said the town already submits performance figures for budget reporting and that staff can produce monthly totals if the commission specifies which fields it wants.

Commissioners also asked where material ultimately goes after it leaves the transfer station. Tiger said final disposition — energy-from-waste, landfill or transfer to other facilities — is decided by hauling vendors depending on plant capacity and that many loads go to regional waste‑to‑energy facilities (he cited Bridgeport as a common destination), but vendor routing decisions vary.

The commission asked Tiger to prepare a spreadsheet for the previous 12 months showing vendors, monthly tonnage by high-level category and payments so the record can be placed in meeting minutes and shared with Planet New Canaan. Tiger noted the commission may need to request town permission, via the board of selectmen, to publish town-held data depending on the format and frequency requested.

What’s next: Tiger agreed to compile the requested spreadsheet; Tom Herman said he will contact Planet New Canaan about hosting or sponsoring publication. The commission did not take any formal vote on policy changes at the meeting.