ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Peter Rossetti Jr. left, chairman of the Saugus Planning Board, talks with new Wheelabrator Plant Manager Peter Kendrigan.
BY BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — A longtime member of the Wheelabrator family is coming home to plant his roots in Saugus.
Wheelabrator Saugus held a reception at Polcari’s Italian Restaurant to introduce its new plant manager, Peter Kendrigan. 30 to 40 people attended the event.
Kendrigan, originally from Burlington, has worked for the company for 15 years. Most recently he was a regional vice president in Florida who was responsible for four different plants.
He’s currently traveling back and forth between Saugus and Florida every other week but will move back to the area full-time in February.
“I’m looking forward to getting back and working with the community,” Kendrigan said. “First listening to (members of) the community, then working with them.”
“It’s great to have somebody who is originally from here,” said James Connolly, vice president of Environmental Health and Safety. “We’ve worked together at a few plants. He’s a good guy.
“He’s very conscientious about the environment, health and safety,” Connolly said. “I’m glad to have him here in Saugus.”
“For the past three years I’ve been in Florida,” Kendrigan said. “I like New England. I like the change in seasons.”
Kendrigan said his wife Seana and three children Liam, Connor and Courtney are anxious for the move.
Fifteen years ago he started working with Wheelabrator as a shift supervisor.
“I went to a plant for a tour and started talking to the vice-president at the time. He offered me a job that day,” Kendrigan said.
Over the years he has worked as a shift supervisor, operations manager, plant manager and vice-president. He is happy to be returning to Massachusetts to work at the Saugus plant, he said.
The Wheelabrator Saugus facility converts waste to energy and provides disposal of post-recycled residential and business waste, generating electricity for sale to local utility companies. It supplies enough energy to meet the needs of 38,000 nearby homes as well as of its own operations.
Waste disposal in the Wheelabrator landfill began in the 1950s in response to a Massachusetts waste problem. The area in which the facility is located became an area of Critical Environmental Concern in 1989. A number of efforts have since been made to ensure the landfill meets regulatory standards, including the remediation of trash placed from 1950 to 1975 by enclosing it within a barrier wall.
Environmental controls have also been put in place including a 2-mile perimeter barrier wall and a leachate collection system. Operations are under regulations by the U.S. EPA, MassDEP, MassDPH and other agencies.
Also on the Wheelabrator property is a 340-acre site known as Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary. The refuge abuts the Rumney Marsh and is certified as Wildlife at Work and a Corporate Lands for Learning habitat location.
Sanctuary manager Geoff Wilson said bird watchers frequently see various species in the sanctuary. There are over 200 bird species, 17,000 trees planted, 10 beehives and nine new ecosystems on the property.
Among the bird species seen in the sanctuary is a snowy owl. Other species include coyotes, deer, fox, raccoons and snakes.
A wildlife team increased the diversity by providing food sources, cover and space for migratory birds. It has become one of the largest bird-migration staging areas on the North Shore.
“I have the luxury of working with a great company in a great community,” Kendrigan said.
“We want to be a partner in that community.”
“Over the next few months I will go out to the community and listen,” he said.
Kendrigan says he will hopefully be the person who attends town meetings, talks to residents and the community and answers any questions they may have.
He said the most important thing he wants people to know is that “Wheelabrator is extremely concerned about the environment and we will always do the right thing.”
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected].