Q: What does Nursery Products do?
A: Nursery Products is an environmental recycling company that makes plant fertilizer. This fertilizer, or compost, helps farmers because it saves water and stimulates plant growth. Nursery Products takes green waste (tree trimmings, saw dust, wood manufacturing trimmings, etc.) and combines it with biosolids to produce high-quality organic compost that reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
Q: What are biosolids?
A: Biosolids are nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment facility. After being treated and processed at the waste water treatment plants, residual "biosolids" can be recycled and applied as fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils, reduce water consumption and stimulate plant growth.
It is important to understand that biosolids are not "raw sewage" or "sewer sludge" as some may imply. Rather, they are extensively processed before composting commences.
Q: How were biosolids disposed of prior to this process?
A: Until the early 90"s, most biosolids from coastal and near inland cities were dumped, untreated into the ocean. Now, the law requires wastewater to be treated and biosolids must be incinerated, buried in a landfill, or recycled.
Q: How does biosolids composting compare to a septic system that many homes have in rural areas?
A: Most states allow individuals to use septic systems in rural areas. Individual homeowners can treat and dispose of their sewage under their property. The septic system allows water with high nitrates to percolate directly to the groundwater. Biosolids composting releases no liquid streams, either to the groundwater or surface water. The potential for adverse groundwater impacts from too many septic tanks is far greater than biosolids composting.
Q: Why not landfill instead of recycling?
A: Recycling biosolids into compost preserves a valuable resource and is a far better use of the material than having it take up space in scarce landfills. Today, about in excess of 50% of all biosolids are being recycled nationwide.
It simply doesn"t make sense to bury good soil nutrients and organic matter that are badly needed by area farmers.
Q: Is biosolid recycling new for farmers?
A: Not at all. Farmers and gardeners have been recycling biosolids through composting for decades. In fact, farmers actually prefer biosolid compost because they have discovered that it actually provides a better yield for their crops than manure. This compost fertilizer promotes the growth of agriculture crops, gardens, trees, etc. while saving water. Biosolid recycling takes place in all 50 states and the District of Columbia where compost from biosolids has been used on the White House and Mount Vernon lawns and gardens.
Q: Are biosolids safe?
A: Yes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with help from scientists from universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, studied biosolids for more than 23 years, then developed stringent regulations that would protect human health as well as the environment. Further, EPA is mandated by law to conduct a bi-annual review of biosolids to ensure it is using the best science available in maintaining and improving its stringent regulations.
In an independent study, the prestigious National Academy of Sciences made up of world-renown scientific experts, closely reviewed the issue and concluded that, "the use of these materials in the production of crops for human consumption when practiced in accordance with existing federal guidelines and regulations, presents negligible risk to the consumer, to crop production and to the environment." This conclusion is supported by numerous other independent research bodies and governmental agencies including the California State Water Resources Control Board and the EPA.