BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – On Tuesday, Sept. 22, the Bellows Falls Village Trustees and the Wastewater Department discussed an alternative to transporting sludge with a presentation by Resource Management Inc on the Shincci-USA.
RMI of Holderness, N.H. presented the Shincci, a system that transforms wet sludge into 90% or more solids to create a Class A fertilizer. Developed in Guangzhou, China in 2003, RMI is the exclusive representative of Shincci-USA, east of the Mississippi.
Sales manager Steve Nurme explained the process as “a dehumidification where the cake goes through a slitter box creating a noodle shape” that increases the surface drying area.
RMI is offering Bellows Falls Wastewater Department their pilot program to use the system for eight months. After the program, BFWWD can purchase the system for a discount.
Wastewater Department Chief Operator Rob Wheeler said, “It’s a cost-savings for us.”
The Shincci achieves the Class A biosolid with both pasteurization and vector attraction reduction making it compliant with EPA rule 503 while leaving an end product fertilizer as a long-term solution for the village of Bellows Falls.
Village President Deborah Wright said they were concerned about current spending and wanted to see cost comparisons.
Nurme said Bellows Falls is “averaging 26% solids…you are hauling an excess of $70,000 [per year] … If you dried it, and stayed under your same model, you could take $50,000 off.” Nurme explained that “Hooksett went from a 30-ton container per week to a 7.5-ton container every two weeks.”
Other benefits of the Shincci system were lowered tipping and trucking fees along with odor management. The cost for the system in July 2021, if BFWWD joined the eight-month pilot program, would be $299,900.
RMI President Shelagh Connelly said, “The payback is under five years, probably closer to 3.5” due to the sludge that is hauled currently to Coventry. She said, “It is so important for communities to stop hauling water.” RMI explained the removal of water from sludge is critical for reducing the volume of material, truck traffic, carbon footprint, and costs.
Wright said that no decisions would be made, but “I’m very happy to see us moving forward with other ways to deal with our solid waste.”
Trustee meetings are the second and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. in the Lower Theater of the Bellows Falls Opera House.