Wastewater agencies like the Philadelphia Water Department used to
dump their solid waste into the ocean... But now treated sewage sludge
is spread on farmland and abandoned mines instead. This approach has
caused a divide between many environmentalists and environmental agencies.
Brad Linder has more.
|
|
|
Sewage Sludge
Compost Toilets Offer a more Environmental Friendly Alternative.
September 27, 2002
|
by Dan Simon
Finding a way to manage human waste has become a much bigger challenge
since the U.S. Congress banned ocean dumping in the late 1980s. The
fight over whether bio-solids are safe to use as fertilizer is one
result of this challenge.
A Philadelphia Water Department waste handling facility.
©WHYY photo by Brad Linder.
|
Opponents of bio-solids, or "sewage sludge" as they maintain it should
be called, argue that the current waste management system is more
of a problem than a solution. These activists say we need to solve
the problem on the "front end" where waste enters the waste stream,
rather than at the "back end" which is where it ends up.
"You've got to stop putting everything down the drain and maybe even
stop using the drain," said Tina Daly, a Phoenixville, Penn., member
of the National Sludge Alliance. "We have to look at alternatives
at the head of pipe, or maybe even get rid of the pipe completely."
A compost toilet at the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton,
Penn. ©GreenWorks photo by Dan Simon
|
One possible alternative to the current system of a central waste
management system and its problems, is the compost toilet. This
device works in a manner similar to a backyard compost bin breaking
down waste materials into a rich, organic fertilizer.
If properly maintained, the compost pile in such a setup will generate
an internal temperature hot enough to kill of potential pathogens
that might normally be found in human waste.
An important side benefit of the compost toilet is the dramatic
reduction in water needed for waste management. Modern centralized
waste treatment facilities need lots of water to move waste through
the sewer system. Not only does the system waste a lot of water,
it also permits the inclusion of industrial waste materials. These
materials include the metals and chemicals bio-solids opponents
fear.
|
|
|
|
|
