Sludge is not a dirty word

Right now, there are well over six billion people living on this planet. They breathe. They eat. They poop.

There, I've said it.

Yet, those of us who are privileged enough to take our indoor plumbing for granted don't like to think, let alone recycle something as base as . . . poop - we'd rather just flush it away and forget it. In fact, before the Clean Water Act of 1972, that's exactly what we did. It took the death of countless waterways, including the Royal River in Yarmouth, to wake us up to reality: Poop happens. And we have to deal with it.

For those of us who love a garden, this is terrific news! Today, wastewater treatment facilities all over the country are transforming sewage into pure, clean water and nutrient-rich biosolids (sludge that's been treated to meet stringent standards).

Biosolids that are composted to Class A standards are extremely well regulated, as low in pathogens and impurities as soil, and can provide your garden with a rich source of plant nutrients and organic matter. I've been using composted biosolids for years - to amend the soil in newly dug gardens, enriching it and improving its structure, and as a mulch on established gardens to discourage weeds, retain soil moisture and moderate soil temperatures. (Bonus: While composted biosolids contain a balance of carbon and nitrogen, expensive bark mulch contains mostly carbon; over time, it can deplete the nitrogen from your soil.)

The benefits of recycling biosolids extend far beyond our gardens: In the year 2000, if they hadn't been recycled, the biosolids in New England would have filled an estimated 350,000 cubic yards of landfill space - that's six landfills the size of football fields piled 33 feet deep!

If you're still feeling queasy about the idea, keep one thing in mind: Composted biosolids are completely transformed; there is, literally, nothing poopy about them. And if you're concerned about contaminants, remember that biosolids are required to be treated, tested and certified to meet very strict federal and state standards for use as fertilizers and soil amendments.

Garden plants are masters at the art of transformation; using the map of their DNA, they turn water and minerals, light and air into leaves and flowers, the fruits of our labors. By adding composted biosolids to the soil in your garden, you can work with nature to recycle the stuff that this planet is made of, including you-know-what. And that is a beautiful thing.

Melissa Mirarchi, a Cumberland County Master Gardener since 1999, earned her master's degree in horticulture at the University of California at Davis but her best and most demanding teachers have been the perennials, trees, and
inexhaustible weeds in her own back yard.

She can be contacted at:
writeon@maine.rr.com

E-mail This Article		Related Links
Send this article to: Your e-mail address: Message (optional):