The site of Harrisburg’s proposed composting facility in Susquehanna Township.
Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse has renewed a quest to build a city composting facility in Susquehanna Township, but still must return to that municipality for final approval of the project.
Papenfuse appeared tonight before the Harrisburg School Board to present the city’s newest proposal for a composting site on 13 acres of school district property.
Though the proposed site is owned by the school district, it is located in the Edgemont neighborhood of Susquehanna Township, where residents rallied to oppose the project when it was first proposed last spring. Papenfuse and the city’s Public Works Department agreed to limit the scope of the project to placate residents, announcing over the summer that they would not pursue plans to compost food at the facility.
The city now proposes to build a site that composts just leaves and yard waste on five acres of the land. The facility will also serve as an “outdoor learning laboratory” for students in area schools, Papenfuse said, since the land is bound by a covenant saying it must be used for educational purposes.
Papenfuse and members of Public Works presented an informational video, filmed at the site, which explained the composting process and described the proposed facility. The facility would accommodate all of Harrisburg’s leaves and yard waste and produce nutrient-rich topsoil for residents.
School Board Director Percel Eiland said that the school board has always been supportive of the project as long as it pleases Susquehanna Township residents.
“We were pretty much sold the first time we heard this presentation,” he said. “We just want the residents to be satisfied.”
City officials will face a tougher audience later this month, when they make the same presentation to Susquehanna Township residents at a Board of Commissioners meeting. Papenfuse previously told TheBurg that he is optimistic that the scaled-back proposal will get their approval
