Compost is available for anyone to purchase
ISHPEMING -- Turning waste into wealth. It's done by using the residue that comes after treating wastewater, which is otherwise known as biosolids, and leftover wood chips from local loggers.
"This is cost effective," says Debbie Pellow, director of the Ishpeming Area Wastewater Facility. "This is environmentally sound, and that's why we went with this process."
Forty-pound bags of fertilizer are sold for about $12 commercially; at the facility, they offer residents the chance to take a truckload, which is about 500 pounds, for only $15.
By offering the product for sale, it saves the plant money in the long run.
"A biosolids program that would cost $120,000 is now going to cost us somewhere around $30,000 to $40,000 a year. That's huge for this facility," Pellow says.
DNRE director Rebecca Humphries toured the facility Monday afternoon and says it could serve as a useful model for similar projects elsewhere in Michigan.
"It provides an opportunity for us to talk with other folks across the state that have biosolids, and talk about how they treat those, and what they're using to spend that, and how they can reduce those costs," Humphries says.
If you're interested in purchasing the compost, you can contact the Ishpeming Area Wastewater Facility to set up an appointment at (906) 486-4391.
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