Page 10 - MRWATODAYWinter2021final

columns

Cow Pots

T
Joe Janson, MRWA Wastewater Technician

The handling of wastewater’s byproduct, sludge or biosolids, is just as important as the treatment of
wastewater. The advancement in biosolids or solid organic matter is fascinating to me. In fact, human
fertilizers from wastewater treatment plants can even be found in retail stores! Scientific research has even
confirmed that human biosolids contain similar nutrients to those found in animal manures. Biosolids that
are used as fertilizer in the farming community or in landscaping are treated to prevent disease-causing
pathogens from spreading to the public, of course. While researching the many types of products created
from wastewater, I was shocked to find nearly five million dry metric tons are created yearly in America.
Of the five million, most are land applied. But, incineration and landfills are viable options to get rid of the
sludge. But... what if we could come up with new or better ideas for biosolids?

A future possible innovative option could be... Cow Pots! Yes, Cow Pots. Not Cow Pies! Now, of course, I
understand that using the byproduct of a cow is different than the byproduct of a human, even though the
two have similarities and both assist in plant growth by providing nitrogen and phosphorus.

Now, let’s have some fun. Cow Pots are a product you may have seen on television or at a local nursery
or even at a shopping center. If you’ve not seen these then you’re asking yourself, “What are Cow Pots?”
Well, a Cow Pot is just what it sounds like, a flower pot made up of cattle manure. First the seed is planted
in soil within a Cow Pot, and once the seed sprouts and is ready to be moved into the garden or flower bed
the plant or vegetable is planted with that Cow Pot. Overtime, the manure will decompose and fertilize the
plant. It’s an extremely cool concept and gardeners know most pots are made of plastic and need to be
removed before planting the plant and then the used pot needs to be recycled.

A Cow Pot is made by cattle manure ran through a wastewater treatment plant. Then, the liquids are
separated from the solid byproducts, thickened, and dried. Does this sound familiar? That’s because it’s
the exact process that wastewater operations specialists use now in mechanical treatment plants. In fact,
according to the Cow Pot website, “The manure is first used to generate biogas in our methane digester.
That biogas is burned to heat our hot water and farmhouse. After it has provided energy to the farm, it
is separated, composted and formed into Cow Pots.” Once formed into pots, the sludge is kiln dried and
turned into its final product.

We might be years away from “Human Pots”, or some other tacky
names I could come up with for a human wastewater sludge
made flower pot. It is, however, fun to think about the
possibilities of pots or other creative ideas we could use
sludge for. If you’d like to read about Cow Pots, more
information can be found at www.cowpots.com.

Remember if you have anything interesting in
your wastewater treatment plant or would like
help or advice, please feel free to give me a
call.

10 MRWA TODAY S WINTER 2021