Recycling Special Wastes

City of Kingston Wastewater Treatment Sludge Management

I. Introduction

Recycling refers to the act of converting something, commonly waste, into reusable material. This paper reviews a case study on innovative recycling of multi-wastes found in waste water involved in waste water treatment before the effluent (the remaining water) is returned to the environment. The following topics will briefly explain on waste water treatment; quick history on the treatment plant being studied; their initiative to help the environment; followed by an assessment on their recycling initiative and perhaps some recommendations to conclude the paper.

II. Background

Waste water treatment is also sometimes termed as sewage treatment. Waste water refers to leftover waters used in households and industries which might contain substances such as food scraps, oils, chemicals and soaps. In this context, the mixture of these substances is often referred to as sludge. Waste water should be treated before returning it to the natural environment by reducing the contaminants through processes embedded in water treatment plants. Given the fact that humans use billions of gallons of water every day, this procedure is essential so not to overwhelm the environment’s natural water filtering processes and that the imbalance of ecosystem caused by excessive pollutants could be reduced (The USGS Water Science School, n.d.).

The Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) discussed in this paper refers to the WWTP in the City of Kingston, a city located in the Hudson River Valley of New York State. The WWTP was built in the early 1940s at the East Strand Street of the city, which then underwent through numerous upgrades throughout the years (Barton & Loguidice, 2015). The general location of the WWTP is represented in the following diagram [Diagram 1].

*Diagram 1: General Location of Kingston WWTP*
[Source: Barton and Loguidice (2015)]

Normally, the sludge from waste water is thickened and dewatered, usually followed by a process similar to phosphorus recovery. The wastewater separated from the sludge, which is then known as ‘effluent’, is returned back to the natural water bodies or transported to be reused for various purposes elsewhere. Next, the sludge is then digested using various techniques including but not limited to anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion and composting. After the sludge has been treated, the sludge remainders are often either injected into land or disposed into landfills (Wikipedia, n.d.).

III. Recycling Initiative

In 2007, the City of Kingston and ASLAN Corporation agreed into a contract in which the latter would “[…] design, install and operate a sludge dryer/pelletizer.” (Barton & Loguidice, 2015). The WWTP’s new processes involved not only the sludge being dried and turned into fertilizer pellets, but also include utilizing waste methane gas to operate the said drying process (NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, n.d.). It was also stated that any excess gas from this process would then be directed to a power generator. The resulting pellets are sold or sometimes given to residents to supposedly improve soil conditions using the recycled nutrients (ibid).

Prior to the project, the initial sludge disposal cost the city around USD218,000 annually. This project was claimed to have successfully prevented thousands of tons of sludge from being discarded into landfills, reduced greenhouse gases emissions and also minimized relevant transportation costs among others (ibid). The Kingston WWTP community was awarded as a Climate Smart Community and their case became part of the Climate Smart Community Guide for Local Action (ibid).

IV. Assessment on the Initiative

According to the brief information disseminated regarding the WWTP, it was evident that the agencies involved took action to attempt to recycle the sludge obtained from the wastewater by converting it into reusable fertilizer pellets and recycle any waste products such as the excess methane gas to be utilized by other plants (ie. Enegry production plants). It could be observed that the processes implemented by the WWTP were imitating that of the symbiosis found in some species, and in this case, particularly the commensalism symbiosis, which refers to the relationship which benefits one, and neutral to the other. An example could be seen from when WWTP provides its waste (therefore neutral) to another plant which produces energy (hence benefited).

However, it was recently found that the City of Kingston attempts to terminate the contract with the ASLAN Corporation. Zangla (2017) from Daily Freeman mentioned in their article as follows:

“According to an amended complaint filed in July 2016, the city claimed Aslan breached the contract by forcing the city to pay for various equipment parts that it was responsible for, costing Kingston on average of $13,800 a year. The complaint also said Aslan failed to install, operate and maintain vapor treatment equipment, which the city ultimately had to install at its own expense

Additionally, the complaint said at the time it was filed, Aslan’s pelletizer had been inoperable since July 2015. That resulted in the city resuming its previous practice of transporting its sewage sludge to the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency for disposal. Transporting the sludge has been less expensive than the contract with Aslan, the complaint states.”

Based on the recent report, it is apparent that due to breach of contract, the project was halted and the sludge is again disposed into landfills, which could further affect the environment. Another plausible reason for the project termination is the adverse health effects the provision of recycled pellets could cause. One of the commentators of the above article, Craig Monk, posited that the processed sewage sludge is the major source for food and water contamination and the sources he provided are linked to controversial issues surrounding the use of processed sewage sludge as fertilizers and how its “safe” label is actually a deception.

One of the sources is a Natural News article authored by Barker (2017) which talks about an upcoming documentary film “Biosludged” to expose the extreme hazards posed by ‘biosolids’, the constituents of the sludge-fertilizers. An excerpt from the article is shown below:

““Biosludged” explores the history of the EPA’s biosolid scheme, which was approved in 1993 and allows the use of biosolid sludge to be spread on farms, gardens, playgrounds, forests and parks – even though this sewage sludge contains heavy metal and a wide range of other toxins.”

The article implies that due to its economic benefits, a number of environmental agencies and governments falsely educated the public that the processed sludge is safe to be used as fertilizers on farms, which could mean that the contaminated crops in such farms are also fed to livestock and which then end up onto people’s plates. It seems that even crucial environmental concerns could never escape controversies involving the country’s economy and politics. The Kingston WWTP recycling initiative might be a good step towards achieving sustainability. However, the method used to recycle and the materials used are in question in terms of its consequences to consumers’ health.

V. Recommendations/Conclusion

Some recommendations include conducting further research on how to ensure the safety of such waste materials before incorporating them into fertilizers which could end up in food and water consumed by humans; and that once proper recycling technique is achieved, the agencies in charge should remain responsible in maintaining the facilities that make the waste-recycling possible.

In conclusion, while the case of wastewater sludge recycling in Kingston WWTP seems environmentally friendly on the face value, other in-depth studies argued otherwise. In addition, it is apparent that money and politics could become difficult obstacles in arriving to solutions in order to achieve environmental sustainability.

References

Barker, D. (2017). EPA Manufactures “Fake Facts” To Whitewash Extreme Health Hazards Of Biosolids; New

Documentary “Biosludged” To Expose The Truth, Natural News. Retrieved from: http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-02-26-epa-manufactures-fake-facts-to-whitewash-extreme-health-and-environmental-hazards-of-biosolids-new-documentary-biosludged-to-expose-the-truth.html

Barton and Loguidice (2015). East Strand Street Wastewater Treatment Facility, City of

Kingston, Long-Term Capital Plan. Retrieved from: http://kingston-ny.gov/filestorage/8463/8511/8682/12517/KingstonWWTP-LongTermCapitalPlanReport-2015.pdf

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (n.d.). Case Studies: Climate Smart Recycling

and Composting. Retrieved from: http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/57195.html

The USGS Water Science School (n.d.). Waste Water Treatment, Water Use. Retrieved from:

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/wuww.html

Wikipedia (n.d.). Sewage Sludge Treatment. Retrieved from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_sludge_treatment

Zangla, A. (2017). Kingston Still Suing to Sever the Sludge-to-Fertilizer Pact, Daily Freeman.