DIGGING    SLUDGE

In the fall of 2001 we had to empty out the Secondary Digester.  Most of the sludge was put in the greenhouses.  We  have three greenhouses which have a floor of sand approx. 4 feet deep.  Under the sand is a series of pipes which drain away the excess water leaving behind the solids. Between the water that drains and the water that evaporates, the sludge can get as high as 95% solids.  Previous to the plant upgrade in 1992, all the sludge was removed this way by the operators.  Now the Sludge Press is used to normally remove sludge and the greenhouses are only used in an emergency.
 
 

 This what the sludge looks like after it dries.  A total of 150,000 gallons of sludge was put into the three greenhouses.  The pitchfork stuck in the sand is what is used to remove the sludge.
 
 

The sludge is picked up with a pitchfork and put into a wheelbarrow.
 
 

The wheelbarrow is then wheeled to and dumped into a backhoe bucket.  It takes four wheelbarrows to fill up the bucket.  The bucket is then dumped into a 30 cubic yard dumpster.  It takes about 15 buckets to fill up the dumpster.  The dumpster is then taken to GROWS Landfill in Pennsylvania.

This is HARD manual labor.  You have to dig the sludge and push a wheelbarrow through the sand all the while in a HOT greenhouse.  Temperatures in the summer time can reach 150 degrees on a sunny day.