The agency that manages the region's trash wants to expand its operations.

The Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resources Recovery Authority, to comply with a state initiative to increase recycling, is considering building a single-stream recycling facility in Preston that would allow paper products to be reused, in addition to cans and bottles.

This comes as the contract for its small recycling center in Groton nears expiration.

The facility in Groton is outdated and “fairly beat up,” according to authority Executive Director Gerald Tyminski. It is on land that is leased from the town and has little room for growth.

To bring the process into the 21st century, the authority is considering building a facility on property it owns along Route 12 that is also home to its trash-to-energy plant.

This has Preston officials, still jaded by the process that allowed the authority to build its incinerator here 16 years ago, wary.

In 1992, despite challenges from Preston, the authority built the incinerator along the Thames River, just south of the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge. Although authority members have asked Preston officials what it would take to build the recycling facility here, some townspeople question whether municipal boards will have a say in the process, unlike that of the incinerator.

Over the past few years, the authority has purchased roughly 6 acres in Preston between the incinerator property and railroad line.

Preston First Selectman Robert Congdon said if the facility is built on that land, the town may have jurisdiction over permitting. However, if the facility is built on the property leased by Covanta Energy, the company that operates the incinerator, and which the Connecticut Siting Council holds the permit, the state agency might have the final say.

In an e-mail, council Executive Director Derek Phelps wrote that without having seen the proposal, “I believe that SCRRRA would need to provide its plan for the recycling facility to the town for comment and then the Council would rule on the improvements to the facility.”

From the town's perspective, if the authority wants to build its facility it will have to amend the zoning regulations that govern what can be built in that area.

An attorney for the town's Planning and Zoning Commission recently determined that neither the incinerator nor the proposed recycling facility are allowed under the town's zoning regulations. Planning officials sent Tyminski a letter explaining the decision.

Congdon, who is a member of the authority's board, said that, by consensus, members authorized Tyminski to apply for the zoning text amendment.

If built, the recycling facility will be designed to increase municipal recycling up to 40 percent because it is a streamlined process, making it easier for consumers to recycle.

The single-stream technology is fairly new and would require multiple product sorters and a new building to house the expanded operations.

Tyminski said the new facility could be built fairly close to the incinerator and would be entirely enclosed. He said the agency will consider whether to use the rail lines to possibly bring in materials for recycling and then to distribute the sorted material.

If the new facility is built, the Groton center would be closed.

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