Beneficial Reuse of Biosolids
By James Hayes
The Beneficial Reuse of Biosolids project, support by the CRC for Low Carbon Living was one of three nominations for the prestigious 2018 NSW Australian Water Association’s (AWA) Program Innovation Award.
Odorous emissions from wastewater biosolids processing and land application can cause nuisance impacts to the surrounding community. The Beneficial Reuse of Biosolids project was dedicated to improving the biosolids product and reducing barriers to land application. The project involved collaboration between academic and industry partners including UNSW, University of South Australia, Sydney Water, Hunter Water, SA Water and SUEZ and has spanned a number of years.
The UNSW component of this project involved improving biosolids processing benchmarking and optimisation, odour management, as well as community engagement and biosolids acceptance. This involved designing and implementing a series of toolkits for wastewater treatment plants to adopt in order to improve their biosolids product, process, and application. These toolkits when applied to a NSW wastewater treatment plant which experienced significantly improved community acceptance, lower odour emissions, as well as reduced transport and processing costs.
The award ceremony was held on the 9th of March at the AWA NSW Heads of Water Dinner and Gala. While the project was not the winner of the Innovation Award, the ceremony was a great opportunity to connect with the project partners and industry stakeholders.
For more information regarding the project or further inquiry, please email James at j.e.hayes@unsw.edu.au
