Thanks to Robert Blechl for the Caledonian Record for writing up this wonderful article! RMI is so excited to be working alongside the Littleton Wastewater Treatment Plant helping them recycle their biosolids!
Littleton Goes Green: Wastewater Plant Bio-Solids To Get Recycled
LITTLETON — In Littleton, what comes around will soon go around.
On Aug. 1, the Littleton Wastewater Treatment Plant will begin recycling its bio-solids, after entering into a contract with Resources Management Inc., of Holderness.
The Littleton plant generates about 800 tons of wastewater solids annually as a byproduct of its treatment process.
According to the figures, Littleton’s move from bio-solid disposal to recycling is expected to save the town roughly $17,000 annually, RMI president-owner Shelagh Connelly said Thursday.
“That translates to the tax rate,” said Littleton Board of Selectmen Chairman Milton Bratz.
For many years, Littleton did not recycle the plant’s bio-solids and had paid to dispose of them at a landfill.
Several weeks ago, however, the town entered into a contract with RMI – for three years, with three additional years renewable – after searching for a more environmental-friendly and sustainable option and putting the process out to bid.
Bio-solids have a high nitrogen content, similar to commercial fertilizer, and can be used on farm fields and golf courses, with the benefits of keeping soils healthy, recycling natural resources and promoting sustainable communities, said Connelly.
“The savings for Littleton adds up, and just as importantly, Littleton is going to a recycling program over disposal and is committed to the environmental and green aspects of beneficial use,” she said.
The bio-solids from Littleton will be transported to the RMI facility in New Hampton and will be processed with wood ash from the Pinetree Power Plant in Bethlehem.
“We blend it together and it gets tested for fertilizer,” said Connelly.
In N.H., corn and hayfield growers are the primary users and RMI has several farmers who buy the material that is like cow manure, she said.
Instead of commercial fertilizer, which can impact groundwater, the bio-solid blend that typically gets spread on fields in the spring or fall is a more natural solution, said Connelly.
RMI, founded in 1994 with the goal of finding sustainable solutions for communities, local agriculture and the environment, has contracts with municipalities across New England and into parts of New York State.
In N.H., Connelly estimates the company handles about 35 percent of the state’s daily flush.
In recent years, more communities have made the shift to bio-solid recycling, she said.
There is a growing awareness by communities that water treatment facilities are actually water resource recovery facilities, as nutrients are going in and there is a lot of energy that can be captured for uses that include electricity, she said.
Connect with Town of Littleton, NH:
Visit: http://www.townoflittleton.org/public_works.php
Connect with RMI:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rmirecycles
Visit: http://www.rmirecycles.com/
Chris Thomson joined the RMI team in November as the newest addition to our Operations department as the Operations Assistant. In this role, Chris is in charge of the daily dispatch of the company’s truck fleet. Chris schedules generator pickups and end user delivers and any other problem that is thrown his way. He is resilient and smart and quickly got the nickname of “Turnip” because they can survive and strive in the toughest of circumstances. Prior to joining RMI Chris served in the military and then spent time as a cross-country truck driver.
Eryka Reid came on board in March as the new part-time Administrative Assistant but is now the full-time Compliance and Marketing Assistant. In these roles Eryka builds maps for all of end user sites and coordinates tradeshows and conferences for the sales team. She is also responsible for maintaining our website and social media sites. Eryka graduated from Plymouth State University with a B.S. in Environmental Science and spent the last year working for Keepsake Quilting, which is a worldwide quilting company. With a science degree and some marketing experience Eryka was a good fit for what RMI needed.
Matt Nelson is also one of the company’s newest employees having come on board in the beginning of June. Matt has joined our Delivery Team focused on operating the company’s roll-off truck. Matt’s experience ranges from operating the tractor trailer at Lowes to working previously for Caselle.
With the new process underway RCSD developed a marketing plan to help identify outlets for the dried product. Hoping for a “turn-key” partnership, in which the partner would take responsibility for the dried products from the loading facility to outlets, that is where RMI comes in!