CARY, NC – Thanks to the efforts of Congressman David Price, the Town of Cary is a million dollars closer to helping to solve regional sludge management issues by building and operating a giant, state-of-the-art dryer that will turn nasty sludge into useful fertilizer. Price presented Cary officials with the $1 million check at a ceremony today at the site of the future dryer, Cary’s South Wastewater Reclamation Facility.

"We’re very thankful that Congressman Price and his staff recognized the positive impacts of this project and helped the Town secure its federal support," said Cary Mayor Glen Lang. "The environmental and economic benefits of recycling waste products for beneficial use is tremendously important to Cary and to our region." Lang noted that receiving federal support for this project is part of the Town’s 2002 legislative agenda.

Sludge, known in the treatment industry as biosolids, is the remains of organisms that digest the solid matter that’s left over after the water in sewage has been removed, treated, and released into creeks or reused. In North Carolina, wastewater system operators must dispose of the sludge according to strict guidelines, which often results in contracting to have the sludge land applied or having it placed in landfills.

The Town of Cary operates two water reclamation facilities that generate about 65,000 gallons of sludge per day. Currently, Cary contracts to have the sludge removed and recycled through land application on farmland in nearby counties. But as development continues in the region, nearby available farmland is becoming scarce, and in order to manage the rising cost and environmental consequences of sludge management, the Town of Cary decided to build the dryer following comprehensive research and evaluation.

"Cary is at the forefront of finding, managing, and utilizing solid waste from wastewater treatment plants in an environmentally-friendly manner," said Price. "As growth puts more demand on our wastewater systems, this is the direction in which more communities will need to move in the future."

Cary’s biosolids dryer project is expected to cost $13.3 million and should be operational in the winter of 2005. Once completed, it will be able to handle up to a maximum of 250,000 gallons of sludge a day, which could yield about 50,000 pounds of environmentally safe, high quality fertilizer per day. Since the capacity of the dryer will exceed Cary’s current needs—about 65,000 gallons per day in 2001, the Town expects to make extra capacity available to nearby communities who are struggling with sludge.

While this is the first such dryer to be built in the Triangle, similar projects have been completed in Boone and Forest City, North Carolina.