Notes on compost




In response to G. Brennan’s letter to the editor Aug. 12, I would like to make the following comments.

The Las Virgenes Composting Facility was dedicated in September 1994, and at that time it was the state-of-the-art in handling solid wastewater treatment waste.

The plant treats approximately 8,000 wet tons per year, of which 2,500 wet tons come from the Triunfo Sanitation District. This is the amount of solid waste that Triunfo is considering to divert to the Toland biosolids facility.

Why is Triunfo thinking of diverting its solid waste to Toland? Let’s look at some cost figures. It costs L.V. about $600 a wet ton to treat the solid waste coming from the Tapia Treatment Plant. That’s $4.8 million to treat L.V. and Triunfo’s 8,000 wet tons of solid waste per year.

If Triunfo diverted its 2,500 wet tons to Toland at the proposed cost of $52 a wet ton, it would only cost Triunfo $130,000 per year instead of the $1.5 million it is now paying to treat its share of solid waste—a savings of $1.37 million. That is about a $9.51 per month saving for the average household or about the increases in water rates that Triunfo customers will be paying for potable water.

As to the other objections that G. Brennan is worried about, let me say that the Toland facility is as equal to or better than Tapia for preserving our environment. Toland produces more electricity than it uses, recovers 100 percent of the water it uses, uses only recovered gas from the landfill for fuel and produces organic fertilizer and fuel that residents can use at their homes.

Technology has moved on since 1994, and so must we in order to produce a better and lowercost product.
Ronald Stark

Oak Park




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