Advanced primary sewage treatment removes up to 70 per cent of the particulate material in the sewage. What happens to that material? Called sewage sludge, or biosolids, this is primarily organic material with high nutrient content. HRM has decided that, rather than landfill or incinerate this material, it should be used for some beneficial purpose, as we try to do for other waste streams such as municipal recyclable waste and organic green cart collections. HRM has obtained approval under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act to process the biosolids into a soil amendment / fertilizer product, using a lime stabilisation process. The final product must meet USEPA Class A standards for biosolids products, and also meet Canadian Food Inspection Agency requirements under the Canadian Fertilizer Act, for labelling as a fertilizer product for sale in Canada.
A facility to manufacture this biosolids product will be built at Aerotech Park near the existing Aerotech Sewage Treatment Plant. The facility will be owned by HRM. The process and product storage areas will be entirely enclosed within the building, and full odour control will be provided. The product will be marketed for appropriate uses under all applicable federal and provincial regulations.
