Oh The Places Your Waste Could Go
Researchers at the University of Minnesota are attempting to create fertilizer by taking the ashes left
over from incinerated human waste and spreading them onto a local farm field
According to the Metropolitan Council, after incinerating the
sludge left behind at the end of the wastewater treatment process,
an average of about 40 tons of ash per day remains at each plant .
This ash, which is usually then hauled to a landfill, is phos phorus -
rich, leading researchers to believe it could have a future as
fertilizer. "You'd be getting a benefit from it," said Dr. Carl Rosen,
who leads the University of Minnesota's Department of Soil,
Water, and Climate. "You'd actually be able to potentia lly even
sell it."
Many Minnesota farmers use sludge in some form as a fertilizer for their crops. However, the Metropolitan (Met) Council
has yet to reuse its ash. Dr. Rosen and his team recently began a three - year study funded by the Met Council to see how
the ash works as a fertilizer on corn and soybeans. They are using the ash, along with wastewater sludge and dried sludge
pellets, both of which are currently used as fertilizer options. Their hope is that the ash is as effective an option.
However, the main concern lies with the substances that could form from the use of ash, like mercury and arsenic. Dr.
Rosen's team is tracking this closely. Efforts to find a productive solution to the Met Council's a sh production began in the
1980 s with a number o f ideas fading out of use. The team at the university is hopeful that they could have an efficient
alternative – so there will be no excuse for sitting on their ash . READ THE STOR Y
W EEKLY EDITION MAY 24, 2017
P AGE 8
