Page 7 - July- August 2018
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rich compost. Howard said local farms go to the landfill, and general manager so he’s adding a cement mixer into
and soil vendors use Sevier Solid Tom Leonard wanted to change that. the mix. It’s a hopper, cement mixer,
Waste compost, and it’s also used for He worked with several equipment conveyor belt and a screen sprayed with
erosion control and other applications companies to develop a system to jets.”
throughout the Southeast. separate and clean inorganics from the
composted material. The new system will divert another
But more than that, zero-waste 160 tons of that 400-ton daily total from
companies from as far away as Atlanta “We knew materials in there could the landfill.
and South Carolina bring their organics be recycled, but on the back end they’re
to Sevier Solid Waste for composting. dirty with compost stuck to them,” Striving for Zero
Howard said. “The commodities are so
“Because of things like that, we can dirty, and no one wants aluminum cans The Sevier Solid Waste system is
find efficiencies and can find ways to covered in compost.” always under development as they strive
make it more sustainable,” Howard said. for zero waste. Howard said the next step
The new system, a combination is to find a way to screen and recycle
It’s a system that works and works of existing equipment and Howard’s plastic film.
well, and it’s a model for municipalities inventions, is being tested and comes
the world over. In Australia, three plants online in July. But, the system is already solid since it
located in Perth, New South Wales and doesn’t rely on participation rates. Sevier
Cairns have replicated the Sevier Solid The residual inorganics are loaded Solid Waste captures 100 percent of the
Waste model. In the U.S., Nantucket into a hopper, and two people manually waste within its borders. While residents
Island and Marlboro, Massachusetts, remove items that can’t be recycled can choose to sort their recycling or use
have copied the SSW composter, too. or would break equipment, items like local recycling centers, the composting
textiles, garden hoses or Christmas and nearly ready recycling system are a
“We are constantly giving tours to lights. Next, a piece of equipment by catch-all.
people from all over the world, from Nihot Technologies removes plastic film
Dubai and China and so many other items like grocery bags, and a conveyor “I think so many people in our society
places,” said Howard. “A few times a year belt with a magnet pulls off metals. today put their garbage on the curbside
we have people here from governments, Finally, the last step sorts plastics and and don’t think about it again,” she said.
or their version of the EPA looking to aluminum. The recyclables are then “The key is getting this message out to
replicate our model.” taken to three bunkers for cleaning and people. It’s a comprehensive look at the
transport. whole waste.”
Recycling Retrofit
“(The new cleaning system) is getting Sevier Solid Waste welcomes tours
While the composter has done tweaked because we’re actually working of the plant for groups large and small.
its job well, there’s still room for on scalability,” said Howard. “(Leonard) For information or to schedule a
improvement. Right now, the inorganic realized we just needed to agitate more, tour, call 865-453-5676 or visit www.
materials gleaned from the compost seviersolidwaste.com.
Cleaning system
removes compost
from the recovered
aluminum.
equipment which remove plastic film, metals, then finally plastics and aluminum. View online at tnpublicworks.com 7
