The seemingly miraculous process that turns Maryville wastewater customers’ waste into rich composting material now has a fringe benefit: The city is giving that material away for free.
Wednesday, July 7, is the first day the Maryville Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant at 4541 Wheeler Road, Louisville, will give away a mix of biosolids and wood chips at no cost to the public.
Biosolids are what the city gets after it processes customers’ waste through a multistaged process that serves about 22,000 customers inside and outside the city limits.
What starts out as typical sewage transforms into Play Dough-like material, deemed by state and federal agencies — including Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — as “class A.”
The plant produces tens of thousands in cubic yards of the material annually.
In fact, it’s a sort of “double” class A because the staff at Maryville’s wastewater treatment plant keep processing it, even after it’s reached high-standard quality.
That makes the stuff perfect for gardening and growing crops, which is why the city’s just giving it away.
Each Wednesday, the plant plans to open its gates for free compost pickup from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. This is a change from the city’s previous model where it charged a fee for the compost.
The only charge in place now is a $20-per-cubic-yard cost for wholesalers: According to a recent release from the city, those who want to resell the material will have to set up an account with the city to do so.
“The product has been very popular with wholesalers in the area,” Maryville Utilities Director Baron Swafford said. “We are excited to be able to provide it directly to individuals at no cost to assist with their yard, landscaping and backyard garden needs.”
A point of pride among the city’s various services, the wastewater treatment plant represents a flurry of technological and scientific processes, each a step in recycling wastewater to crystal clarity.
Once the water and the biosolids are completely separated, the soil-like material is mixed with wood chips — at a 1-4 ratio, respectively — and left in long rows where it’s mixed by a slow-moving, SCARAB-brand windrow turner machine.
Natural biological processes cause those rows to heat up, further purifying the material before citizens are allowed to haul it off.
Swafford said people waste no time in picking the material up, sometimes taking away all available compost before the Wednesday is over.
“Our primary goal is to get rid of it,” he said in a recent interview. “We felt like this was the right thing to do, to give back to our customers. It’s something they can use and something they can get value out of. … . I feel pretty confident it’s going to walk away, just like it did before.”
Maryville’s biosolid byproduct production isn’t how every plant operates. Many choose to dump biosolids at local landfills instead of recycling it. Leaders at the plant are proud their process not only produces clean water, it also contributes to the organic life of Blount’s rural and gardening population.
City officials are asking people to call 615-693-9425 beforehand to make sure the supply is adequate before they show up.
Open-bed trucks or landscaping-type trailers are required for pick up.
Wholesalers will need to set up an account with the city’s finance department: They can contact customer service at 865-273-3456 to do that.
For more information, Blount residents can contact the Maryville Water and Sewer Department at 865-273-3300.
