Dive summary:
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials in Ohio are considering a proposal to change state rules and allow ash produced by municipal sewage incinerators to be used in lawn fertilizer.
- The proposal would expand the EPA's current rules to allow cities to re-use industrial waste.
- While the sewage ash may contain some heavy metals, officials at sewage treatment plants claim the ash is safe for people.
From the article:
The proposal, which is still preliminary, would expand the state EPA's beneficial use program to allow certain industrial wastes to automatically qualify for other uses.
Currently, most cities dump their ash in landfills. A special permit must be obtained to use the ash, which can contain heavy metals, for other purposes, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
The city of Columbus mixes some of its ash into the compost it sells, but "[i]t has been a struggle" to obtain permits, Dax Blake, administrator for the city's Division of Sewerage and Drainage, told reporters. ...
