How to Recycle Wastewater Treatment Plant Filter Cakes

Examine your company's budget to determine how much money is currently being allocated to recycling and other waste removal activities. In particular, look at how your company disposes of wastewater filter cakes to determine how much the removal process costs. If you're already spending money in that area, it may be possible to simply reallocate your funds for a different purpose rather than paying someone to transport the cakes for the purpose of disposal.

Study the composition of the cake filters that you are going to recycle. Have the material sent off to a lab or use your own to determine the composition of the waste products. The process of creating these filters, in most cases, involves separating the wastewater from the dissolved solids suspended in the water. The end result is sludge that is turned into the filter cake. As long as the sludge is not radioactive in nature, it can be recycled in some manner.

Consult with an environmental officer, whether state or federal, from the Environmental Protection Agency. Ensure that the material you are getting ready to recycle can be used for that purpose to avoid placing any contaminants back into the environment.

Reach out to local farmers and community gardens to offer access to the filter cakes for recycling purposes. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Inc. notes that it has created a special piece of equipment designed for recycling these types of materials. Fertilizer and compost is one major use of the material produced through the recycling process. Providing farmers with free or inexpensive access to fertilizer may make it simple to get the material taken off your hands.

Contact your state's highway department. Another potential use of filter cakes is as aggregate material in road construction. The material can be mixed with road tar and gravel to build new roads.