Michagan landfill bans Toronto's sewage sludge

[timouse]

this gets a bit gross. if that doesn't bother you, then do carry on. I didn't even know that Toronto's sewage slugde was going to the states along with the garbage. apparently Toronto sludge is particularly smelly as compared to other cities (sorry toronto ).

the explanation that i've heard is that the bacterial cultures in the water treatment plants are as old as the treatment plants themselves, and that Toronto's sludge got particularly funky once the animal tissue waste from the abbatioirs got in. the same bacteria that help make rotten meat smell are happily living in Toronto's sewage treatment plants.

Michigan landfill rejects Toronto's sludge

May 31, 2006. 04:24 PM

CANADIAN PRESS

A Michigan landfill site is turning up its nose at Toronto’s treated sewage sludge.

The Carleton Farms facility will no longer accept the waste after Aug. 1 because locals who live in the area are complaining about the smell, spokesperson Will Flower said Wednesday.

“We came to a business decision not to accept sludge at the landfill,†Flower said.

The landfill had been reviewing its sludge intake since April, when a group of residents raised a stink at a public hearing.

But Toronto works committee chairman Shelley Carrol said she only learned of the decision today.

“If they’ve got a hard date, I’m kind of surprised we haven’t got it,†Carrol said.

She could not say where Toronto would take its sludge after August.

Flower said the landfill was giving 60 days notice to allow municipalities, including Detroit and Toronto, time to find someplace else to dispose of the sludge.

The landfill, which is seeking to expand, is also facing a $25,000 class-action lawsuit over the smell, but Flower said it had nothing to do with the decision.

“We have an obligation to work with our neighbours and protect those neighbours,†Flower said.

“In this case we are foregoing economic opportunities in exchange for preserving a good relationship with our neighbours.â€

The change takes effect in August, although the landfill will continue to accept Toronto’s trash.

Toronto Star article.