Thursday, May 30, 2013
Right Tyres. Right Choice.
Cleaning up the sludge By ALECIA ROUSSEAU
Palmerston North is one step closer to diverting 75 per cent of its waste from landfills by 2015 with the establishment of a new sludge treatment plant. The Wetox plant, developed at Victoria University, was officially launched this week at the Totara Road wastewater treatment plant, the first of its kind in New Zealand. Almost half a million tonnes of sludge enter the lower North Island’s landfills, where its high phosphate content presents dangers to river health should it leach out. The new project aims to reduce the amount of sludge passing through the city’s plant by recovering such phosphates, along with the alum used to treat it. PNCC water and waste services manager Rob Green said the intention would be to use the alum on site to reduce the costs of purchasing it. ‘‘Phosphates will also be recovered, which is great news as it means the chances of these leaching into the Manawatu River from waste water are extremely minimal,’’ he added. The Wetox technology uses high temperatures and pressures to break the sludge down into its components for extraction. If everything goes to plan, there will be at least a 90 per cent sludge reduction, and at least 80 per cent of the alum will be recovered. The council hopes to sell the recovered phosphate as fertiliser. Geoff Todd, chief executive of VicLink, which produced Wetox, said the new plant also provided a solution to headaches caused by having to get rid of the stuff. ‘‘Waste water, water treatment and industrial processors that produce sludge face tighter constraints and rising costs of disposal,’’ he said. ‘‘The Wetox system provides a costeffective solution to this problem.’’ The plant received $1.1 million in funding from the Government’s Minimisation Fund. Palmerston North mayor Jono Naylor said the new scheme highlighted the need for more of this kind of problem solving. ‘‘This kind of thinking is exactly what needs to be going on around the country,’’ he said. ‘‘Addressing the big issue with this unique solution . . . makes us special.’’
QUALITY MILSON
INSIDE this week
Heart focus — page 3
GDN300513wetox
CLEANING UP: Mayor Jono Naylor, Professor Neil Quigley, Mike Mendoca and Dr Kevin McKay with the city’s latest weapon against phosphate pollution.
Stan on tour — page 13
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