Sludge Watch ==> Myrtle Beach - no market for sludge compost - Big County debt

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

So this county got talked into sinking money into a sludge composting 
operation, and is then stuck with a huge taxpayer bill when no one wants to 
pay for sludge compost.

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Thu, Apr. 05, 2007
Negative returns on compost production a sticky problem
Georgetown County seeks out strategies for marketing sludge
By Aliana Ramos
The Sun News

TOM MURRAY/The Sun News

John Robinson, a front-end loader driver for the Georgetown Water and Sewer 
District, spreads a load of aged sludge and yard waste at the Georgetown 
County Landfill Regional Composting Facility on Tuesday as heat from the 
decomposition process rises around him. The county's compost program has 
been unexpectedly unprofitable.Georgetown County is spending $500,000 a year 
to run a composting site that generates about $50,000 a year in revenue.

That's not the kind of return Georgetown County officials were hoping for 
when they entered into an agreement with area sludge providers more than a 
decade ago to fund sewer and wastewater improvements, County Councilman 
Johnny Morant said.

"For a while it appeared that things were going fine. But somewhere it fell 
flat," Morant said. "I don't think any of us imagined that it would be the 
cost we have today. It never materialized to the extent we had hoped for."

But eliminating the costly composting operation is not an option under an 
agreement the county signed in 1997 with the Town of Andrews, city of 
Georgetown and the Georgetown County Water and Sewer District.

And getting rid of the composting site could cost the county about $480,000 
a year to store the sludge, according to figures provided by Georgetown 
County Public Works Director Ray Funnye.

Now, the county is looking at ways to make the operation more profitable. 
Funnye has started meeting with marketing experts.

"We need tips to help us identify vendors and to help us learn how to close 
the deal," Funnye said.

"We already have a marketing plan, but we need to expand it."

Compost can be used for landscaping projects, mulch, garden bed 
establishment and erosion control. It can help to reduce soil-borne plant 
diseases, it improves soil's water holding capacity and it improves drought 
tolerance, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental 
Control.

Morant recommended conducting an analysis comparing the cost of the 
Georgetown County composting system with other counties, to see whether they 
are losing money to the same degree and to see what they do to help curtail 
costs.

"Are they losing funds, or are we not marketing a product? Composting is a 
business. I can't imagine someone being in that business unless there is 
something to be gained from it," Morant said.

The Georgetown County Landfill generates about 6,000 tons of compost a year, 
which is sold by the truckload for $25 a ton. The county's compost product, 
called GeorgetownGreen, is certified by DHEC.

Horry County makes about 3,000 tons of compost a year and sells it for $10 a 
ton. Last year, Horry's composting site made about $28,903, said Ricky 
Hardee, executive director of the Horry County Solid Waste Authority.

"It's not a moneymaking business," Hardee said. "It's a convenience and a 
service we provide to our residents and our customers. One thing to add to 
that is that there are some savings that we get from keeping it out of the 
landfill. There is some value to that, but it doesn't make the registers 
ring."

Hardee points out that Horry's compost does not mix in sludge to make its 
product, as Georgetown County does. "It's not comparing apples and apples."

Georgetown County's compost is only sold by the truckload. Funnye said the 
county tried to sell the compost by the bagful a few years ago to residents 
but said the program didn't work. "It just wasn't economically feasible," he 
said.

He said he's now focusing on selling the product to businesses that can buy 
compost in large quantities. He said the county already uses some of the 
compost in its own public works projects, which helps to save the county 
money.

If marketing efforts work and the county is able to sell all 6,000 tons of 
compost, the county could potentially make $150,000.

Landfills elsewhere also make money through tipping fees, which is the money 
that other governments, individuals or businesses pay to dump their waste in 
the landfill. But under the 1997 agreement, the county is not allowed to 
charge the town of Andrews, city of Georgetown, or the Georgetown County 
Water and Sewer District tipping fees or any other fees to recover 
maintenance, operation or capital improvement costs for processing the 
sludge.

In return, Andrews, the city of Georgetown and the Georgetown County Water 
and Sewer District agreed to pay for the construction and maintenance of a 
new sewer interceptor and construction of a $2 million composting site to 
accept biosolids or sludge, which is the leftover material processed at the 
wastewater treatment plant.

The agreement also required improvements and expansions to the Georgetown 
Wastewater Treatment Plant.

At the time it was considered a "win-win" situation, said Morant, who was 
the county board chairman at the time.

The entities that were producing the sludge would give it to the county for 
free, and the county would turn around and use the sludge to make compost 
for sale. The profits from the sale of compost were then supposed to be used 
to help defray some of the costs of the compost operations, Morant said.

He said Georgetown County has been looking at this issue for the past five 
years.

"I do believe it's becoming a constant drain on the county," Morant said.

"You can't get rid of it, you have to look where you can cut out costs. 
Whether they have maximized the alternatives, I do not know."

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/17029818.htm


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