Hopkington-Webster Transfer Station Cleaning Up Sludge

The cost of cleaning up the PFAS-contaminated sludge at the Hopkinton-Webster transfer station and potentially relocating it off-site could cost $13.8.

The 52,000 tons of sludge containing chemicals at the transfer station lagoons are the result of years of accumulation from residential and commercial waste pumped from septic tanks.

The contamination issue first emerged in 2021 when the Hazardous Waste Management Bureau detected elevated levels of PFAS in groundwater monitoring wells surrounding the transfer station, where the septic lagoons are situated.

Since then, the town has been collaborating with the Department of Environmental Services to address this situation.