Need Some Sludge?

Anybody in the market for some sludge? Sludge, also known as biosolids, is the remaining material once a wastewater treatment lagoon has been drained. Needless to say, the market for sludge has not been extensive. But that may all be changing as the small city of Oxford, Mississippi discovered.

According to "The Oxford Eagle," Oxford was confronted with the fact that the wastewater treatment lagoon built in the early 90s to hold 3.5 million gallons a day of wastewater was not large enough for the growing population. A much larger one was constructed, which worked fine, but the city alderman then faced the problem of ridding the area of the old lagoon.

Usually, the unused lagoon would be drained, allow the remaining sludge to dry and then transport it to an appropriate site for disposal. Over a period of time the land could be redeemed for other uses. After checking into different options, the city learned that in Europe sludge was used by farmers as fertilizer, and so an investigation began to see if the recycling idea was feasible in this case.

Oxford aldermen contacted the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to see if their sludge could be recycled. If the plan is approved, the City could save approximately $300,000 in expenses, another plus side to the plan.

There is a set of criteria relating to size and location of crop fields to creeks, rivers and residences, so finding just the right place for the sludge to be used as fertilizer was a challenge. It wasn't long until a local farm owner was located, and now it's just a matter of the DEQ approval.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, as long as sludge meets the treatment and pollutant content criteria, it can be safely used as fertilizer. Additionally, it improves the soil and stimulates plant growth. Sounds like a great way for everyone to be involved in a recycling program and going green, so to speak.

Source:

"The Oxford Eagle"