Sustainable Solution: Transforming Municipal Waste into Valuable Organic Soil

JERRY SCHOLDER

The ”proof of concept” proposal intends to use a Non-Thermal process to convert up to 40,000 tons of Municipal Waste (Sludge) into a pathogen free, nutrient rich, organic soil amendment (Castings). Utilizing a more sustainable, non-thermal bio-chemical process (Vermistabilization- VS), where "redworms'' convert and modify the characteristics of Class B and lower quality biosolids to produce a Class A soil (worm castings), absent of any detectable pathogen or toxic microorganisms, to be used with no restrictions.  

Scaled-Up Process for Creating Class A Biosolids 

A Pilot Project in March 1997 at Ocoee Florida by Clive Edwards successfully met the E.P.A. Part 503 P.F.R.P. requirements to qualify as a Class A soil.  (Resources 2, 16)

Expanding upon this successful Pilot Project, W.O.R.M.S. will develop a highly scalable process capable of converting Class B Sludge/Biosolids to Class A a minimum of 10 Tons/day with a goal of in excess of 100 tons/day.  

Environmental Impact

This conversion to Class A biosolids provides a more sustainable solution that treats biosolids as a resource:

• biosolids are full of beneficial microbes and fungi for worm diet. 

• provides nutrient rich, stabilized organic soil/castings 

• Significantly reduces Greenhouse Gasses.

• Frees up landfill space that is disappearing and unsustainable.

• Provides greater yield of crops and less time to mature without chemicals fertilizers.

• Creates more land with Humus soil to grow crops for future population increase.

• Capital expenses for start up are a fraction of  WWTP, Landfill, Incineration or Gases converted to Energy, land application

• Sustainable and low skilled labor are able to manage.  

• Remediation and reclaiming of poor soils due to poor agricultural practices, pollutants and toxins leaching in soil, lost soil carbon.

• Reduction of transportation costs and fossil fuel emissions

Vermistabilization vs. Traditional Treatment Processes

Traditional treatment processes of biosolids at a Wastewater Treatment Plant result in mostly Class B biosolids that are only partially treated for any harmful pathogens.  For this reason they are either landfilled, spread over existing soil, or used as replacement of soil lost.  While the remaining pathogens are considered “harmless”, they are odorous and there is no definitive proof to show they are harmless to people, animals and humans near to where they are spread.  In fact, as more updated information is provided it appears to show a consistent number of cases when younger, older, and people with compromised immune systems have experienced adverse health reactions.  (Link 15)

Compost vs Vermicompost vs Vermistabilization all are more environmentally friendly and safe for public health than Landfill, Incineration, Class B biosolids spread on fields, or Conversion of greenhouse gasses to energy. Compost releases the most greenhouse gasses and is the most difficult to process for any benefit to the soil. Vermicompost and VS are easier to implement, have less start up costs, and provide a valuable resource to the soil and the environment through the production of worm castings.

Many biosolids not achieving Class A or Class B status take up badly needed landfill space, emitting additional greenhouse gasses and do not result in net energy reductions; in fact they increase the use of energy to provide a useless product of little or no value.  (i.e. Incineration and conversion of gasses to energy).  

Vermistabilization allows for greater land use and accordingly increased agricultural production. The worm vermicastings allows for remediation of toxic soil, reclaiming lost use of land, lowering energy costs and capital expenses, reduced transportation and handling costs and associated pollution and dumping fees of disposal, and reducing costs for upgrading existing equipment.  Most importantly it reduces the emission of greenhouse gasses in multiple ways.

V.S. also addresses an increasingly worse concern;  Climate Change due to the emission of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and various synthetic chemicals.  There is a direct correlation between climate change and soil erosion and depletion, flooding, drought,  intensive storms, dust storms and global warming.   The earth's soils are being washed away, rendered sterile or contaminated with toxic materials at an unsustainable rate.  The worm is the only animal on Earth that is able to create soil and remediate unusable soil by building up soil carbon. Due to varying factors including, weather, poor agricultural practices, landfills, chemical degradation and depletion of soil through residential and commercial land development soil becomes unstable, breaks apart and can be blown away or carried away with water, never to return. Oxygen (Air), Water, Food, Health, Agricultural land and Soil, and Waste Disposal are all interdependent on each other.  Few climate change solutions can provide a positive change for each of them in a way for each to lower the elements contributing to climate change and the increase in pollutants and greenhouse gasses resulting if we fail to do so.

Redworm castings contain complex humic substances that serve to trap carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other GHG pollutants currently  entering the air from soil disturbance and questionable soil additives. In addition, castings have no odors, and no chemical properties to harm the soil or the microorganisms contained in the soil. These humic substances provide stability to the soil through resistance to erosion, added porosity, stimulation of biological activity, soil structure and mineral solubility.

Current inorganic practices can leach chemical fertilizers into clean bodies of rivers and lakes. This can be essentially eliminated by using castings which provide an environmentally conscious and effective way to maintain landscapes and provide a “Goldilocks” menu of nutrients immediately available to, and easily absorbable by plants and crops. 

Class A biosolids, which have no restrictions in their use as organic fertilizer, allow more land to be cultivated and in result allow greater amounts of crops to feed the growing population. They have no odor. This in turn provides greater soil organic matter, (humus) increasing the efficiency in producing more product in less time, allowing faster germinating, healthier roots and improved product quality. It also facilitates greater use of otherwise fallow farm fields or remediating land with lost soil carbon.  

Lastly, castings reduce the severity of Flooding, Dust Bowls and Drought due to a breakdown of soils, whereas the organic matter of castings reaches a state of stability that will withstand much of the damage by natural disasters which are creating the forementioned problems. The castings create pockets in the soil to absorb 3x the weight of the soils otherwise prone to flooding when devoid of castings. Cleaner, healthier plant roots are given the extra space to provide greater yields, faster, larger, and with lesser loss to diseases and loss to poor weather conditions.

Market Potential and Future Growth

Presently, available castings on the market are not due to vermistabilization, but through a heat intensive process, (thermophilically) where any pathogens are eliminated by temperatures of up to 158 degrees F  and up to 2 months before becoming usable.  In Avon, NY, a thermal process of heating up large compost piles mixed with other organic wastes produces vermicompost with vermicastings.  It is not by way of converting "wastewater sludge". Due to regulations that do not accept non-thermal processes to "clean" partially treated sludge, unless approved by E.P.A. or State Environmental regulations. These thermophilic methods result in castings with lesser nutrient benefits than sludge would provide after being vermistabilized without excessive heat.

The present market for Vermicomposting is estimated to be worth $63.55 million in 2019, $101.85 million in 2022 and is forecast to be $234.37 million by 2028.  The global vermicompost market is expected to grow from $6.17 Billion in 2021 to $6.77 Billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $8.58 billion in 2026. 

A large network of users are purchasing castings including: Gardeners, (household and commercial), Farmers for agricultural crops, Golf Courses, Landscapers, Turf Growers, Environmental and Conservation Groups for remediation of contaminated soils and controlling leaching of toxic chemicals into lakes, rivers and bodies of water.  The $165 Billion Botanical and Horticulture Industry has also realized the castings benefits through organic fertilizer, lesser diseases, greater plant health and the extended life of their plants and flowers without the use of inorganic fertlilizers.

Vermistabilization: A Regenerative Solution

Vermistabilization provides a usable resource, (castings) from a multitude of expensive disposable waste alternatives, (wastewater sludge being one of many). Use for disposable organic landfill items such as: paper, cardboard, food scraps, gardening, brush and leaf clean-up, agricultural wastes, untreated wood products, and more can be vermicomposted. VS returns a multitude of benefits both in income from the castings produced, the reselling of redworms for household and garden use, and the environmental stewardship from a process that reduces pathogens in the air, soil, and water while providing a cost effective solution to reducing harmful Greenhouse Gasses.

• https://wasteadvantagemag.com/organics-converting-biosolids-to-organic-fertilizer-usingredworms/

• https://pdfcoffee.com/achieving-pathogen-stabilization-using-vermicomposting-pdf-free.html