Farmington’s Green Efforts Committee met Tuesday, January 6, 2026, in Town Hall Council Chambers with an online option, opened the floor for public comment, and got none—then moved directly into spring cleanup planning, recycling metrics, and school composting, with AP U.S. Government students in the room asking questions along the way. Full video: Watch the meeting on YouTube.
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No Quorum, No Minutes
The committee did not have a quorum, so members did not vote to approve the prior meeting minutes (listed on the agenda as the December 2, 2025 regular meeting minutes). The approval was deferred to a future meeting. (Agenda PDF).
April 25, 2026 Town-Wide Clean-Up
The committee set Saturday, April 25, 2026 for the next Town-Wide Clean-Up. (Agenda PDF).
Key logistics discussed:
- Hours: members referenced 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., with setup beginning around 7 a.m.
- Locations: members said they planned to keep the same locations as the prior year.
- Posters: Jennifer Wynn said she could handle posters again.
- Permits: the chair said a public event permit still needs to be handled.
- Prizes: members said they would pull together last year’s prize list and follow up; one “Naples” prize was described as a carry-over because “someone didn’t want it.” (The town’s prior Clean-Up page listed Naples Pizza among donors.) (Town Clean-Up Day page).
The most practical debate was not philosophical—it was about shade. Members said they were looking into pop-up tents for three of the four collection sites, because relying on volunteers to bring their own canopies is a strategy best reserved for lemonade stands. They noted the Tunxis Mead site typically has a canopy already, so the focus was on the other locations. (Town Clean-Up Day page).
Public Education
The group reviewed a slate of public-education items intended for town communications, including:
- Clean-Up Day information (winter and spring newsletter mentions were discussed)
- Composting at Westwoods and planned expansion to “IAR”
- Textile recycling updates
Members also discussed the value of periodic reminders about how to recycle specific items using an online “what-goes-where” resource (referred to in the discussion as “CTRecycle” or a similar tool).
To keep the pipeline from relying on whoever remembered a topic five minutes before a meeting, Garrett Daigle said he created a SharePoint tracker with a dropdown field for where a topic should run (newsletter, Facebook, and more). (Green Efforts Committee page).
Members also floated a future format change: once the 1928 Building is open, they discussed using a larger room (with a screen/camera setup) to hold a hybrid presentation that could be broadcast on Zoom and recorded.
Textile Recycling: 5,500 Pounds
The committee said Farmington’s textile recycling program—handled through Helpsy—recycled 5,500 pounds of textiles from April through December 19, and that about 1,000 pounds were collected during a household hazardous waste event.
Committee members said residents had been calling for a replacement after Simple Recycling ended service, and they discussed pulling historical numbers to compare old and new programs. Farmington’s Helpsy partnership is described by the town as a free textile recycling program available to residents. (Town announcement on Helpsy partnership).
School Composting: Westwoods Now, “IAR” Next
The committee discussed the school composting program and its next step: expanding beyond Westwoods to Irving A. Robbins Middle School (IAR), described as a Board of Education priority for this winter. (Town Clean-Up Day page showing IAR’s full name).
A committee member described the system this way: food scraps are collected by Blue Earth Compost and taken to Quantum BioPower in Southington, where an anaerobic digestion process produces compost and biogas. (Quantum BioPower overview).
Numbers shared in the meeting:
- November: 1,500 pounds of food scraps (and “332 pounds CO₂ saved,” as stated in the discussion).
- Ongoing diversion of some fruit to a food pantry was also referenced.
The main hurdle described for expansion was not ideology; it was equipment: members discussed the cost of a sorting station and the reality that it must move through the budget process.
A $1,000 Garden Club Grant
A committee member raised a Farmington Garden Club grant described as $1,000, discussed whether the Green Efforts Committee could apply, and landed on a simple strategy: apply, ask for what’s needed, and let the Garden Club decide how many awards it makes.
Leadership Hand-Off
Near the end of the meeting, Garrett Daigle said he believed this would be his last Green Efforts Committee meeting and that Patti Boye-Williams was expected to step into the chair role. Boye-Williams told the room she has worked on large-scale solar and battery projects and has practiced environmental law. (Green Efforts Committee page listing Daigle as Assistant Town Planner; Boye-Williams bio).
The meeting adjourned without a formal vote, and the next regular meeting was listed for February 3, 2026. (Agenda PDF).
About the Author
— Jack Beckett ☕
Senior Writer, The Farmington Mercury — currently running on coffee strong enough to survive both a missing quorum and a 7:00 a.m. cleanup setup time.
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This article, “Farmington Green Efforts Committee Sets April 25, 2026 Clean-Up; Textile Recycling Reaches 5,500 Pounds,” by Jack Beckett is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.
“Farmington Green Efforts Committee Sets April 25, 2026 Clean-Up; Textile Recycling Reaches 5,500 Pounds”
by Jack Beckett, The Farmington Mercury (CC BY-ND 4.0)
