'Cannibal' system to ease odors from waste plant

AMERICAN FORK — The Timpanogos Special Services District unanimously approved a waste-disposal plan Thursday night that should significantly decrease the plant's odors within three years.

The plant's board of directors voted to convert to a "cannibal" treatment system as soon as possible. The new method is expected to decrease the amount of bio-solids the plant handles by 80 percent.

"I'm very much in favor of (the cannibal process) and the whole system," said board member Tracy Wallace.

Board members recently completed a visit to a fully functioning cannibal waste treatment plant in Peru, Ind. Many board members said they were skeptical of the system before taking the "field trip," but actually seeing the plant changed their minds.

The method of treatment has been in operation in several waste treatment plants for about seven years and is preferred by some because it is cost-effective and reliable.

Other options that were considered relied on being able to deposit solid waste into a landfill or transfer station. But landfills can deny the waste at any time, and transfer stations can move or go out of business, said district engineer Larry Bowen.

"I think the cannibal plant was very impressive," said board member David Bunker.

The cannibal process is similar to the district's current waste-treatment process. In the cannibal process, contaminants, such as plastic and paper, are removed. The waste goes into a basin where micro-organisms digest the sludge. The waste then goes into a second basin where a different type of organism eats the first organism and leftover solids.

Micro-organisms that are used are naturally occurring in the waste, although the basins' environment is maintained to foster the micro-organisms' growth.

According to Bowen, initial costs for converting to a cannibal system are estimated at $16.3 million. The process should decrease incoming sludge up to 20 percent. The remaining amount can then be composted at a remote location. Officials say the conversion to the cannibal system is part of an expansion project that will be funded through bonding.

Nearby businesses of the plant have complained recently that the smell emanating from the district is hurting their operations.

A majority of the plant's smell is thought to come from composting. The plant composts 100 percent of its bio-solids with green waste. The compost is then available for purchase.

If the plant did not convert to the cannibal system, the bio-solids would have had to be driven out to a landfill site, most likely in the Cedar Valley area. Green waste would also have to be transported to the remote composting site.

Combined with green waste, the plant receives enough bio-solids a day that it would require 13 semi-truck loads. Bowen said it could be dangerous to transport such large amounts of waste so frequently, and so far away.

"Given the number of trucks that are going to travel every day for 365 days, year after year, it's not a matter of if there's going to be an accident," said board member Mike Wren, "it's a matter of when."

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