Plumstead Residents Form a New NonProfit Organization

Plumstead, PA—Take a drive on some of Bucks County’s most bucolic roads in Plumstead, and you will see a sudden emergence of yard signs stating “Save Plumstead, Say NO to Bright Feeds.” This is because Plumstead residents rushed to create a new nonprofit organized to protect the rights of property owners who fear a company from Connecticut will soon change their air quality and become a noise nuisance. They have created these signs to get the word out about Bright Feeds, a new food waste recycling plant attempting to set up shop on Potters Lane.

The new nonprofit entitled, “Friends Against Bright Feeds” was recently formed by a motivated team of local residents as a grassroots community coalition aiming to bring awareness to a proposed solid waste recycling center in Plumstead. Information derived from the nonprofit’s website lists how a new recycling plant will have a devastating effect on the community. Co-Founder Andrew Marcum states, “The Bright Feeds operation will create a negative impact on the health and well-being of residents, creating damaging smells and noise pollution with their around the clock operations, and potentially hurt home, business and other property values. They plan to bring 400 tons of waste from out of state into our town each day. The Friends Against Bright Feeds website is dedicated to making sure the public is armed with knowledge about the proposed business venture and to mobilize action to stop its construction.”

As stated on their website, some of the most egregious issues that Friends Against Bright Feeds are concerned about include the lack of infrastructure at the proposed site as the roadway was not constructed to handle the 75-foot tractors and trailers and this poses serious safety concerns. In addition, there will likely be an impact on regional water as the recycling processing needed to create the pet food from food waste requires an extensive use of water and this may deplete local resident’s current wells, requiring them to dig deeper wells. Bright Feeds currently operates in a similar community in Connecticut and residents there report major issues with odor, noise, and traffic, significantly altering opportunities to work and play outside.

It appears that the Bright Feeds website (www.brightfeeds.com) is no longer operational online, and the township zoning meetings are actually scheduled to take place with a company entitled Smart Feed. At the time of this article posting, Smart Feed has not responded to a request for comment.

A local resident, Heather Tobin, who is very concerned with Bright Feeds’ plan to move into Plumstead shared, "The example provided by the Bright Feeds facility in Berlin, Connecticut provides plenty of evidence that such food waste recycling operations carry significant risk of noise and odor nuisance to the surrounding community. Bright Feeds subjected residents there to abysmal conditions and only took action to partially mitigate it after they were issued a violation notice by the state of Connecticut. This type of facility does not belong in our quiet and peaceful town."

In a community New York Times-famous for a previously contentious school board, residents are proving they are ready to work together to protect their rights. Two upcoming meetings loom, one on October 7th and another on October 8th where residents are able to attend. The October 7th meeting is listed as a “ZHB Mtg” on the Plumstead Township website. This ZHB is a second meeting regarding their decision on the applicant, Smart Feed. The meeting will be held in the main meeting room. The October 8th gathering is listed as a Board of Supervisors meeting at 7PM. Both meetings are at the Plumstead Municipal Building located at 5186 Stump Rd, in Pipersville. The agenda for the September 24th meeting is available at this link: AGENDA. Updates are listed on the Plumstead Township website.

To purchase a sign or to donate to Friends Against Bright Feeds follow this link: https://www.saveplumstead.net