Pasco County leveraging its partnership with FloridaGreen to transform waste into fertilizer

A unique facility in Pasco County, Florida, is leveraging a partnership with FloridaGreen, formed in 2018, to transform waste into a profitable and eco-friendly product. The bio-solids processing facility, aptly named FloridaGreen, recycles leftover sludge from the county’s wastewater treatment plants into top-rated fertilizer.

This collaboration originated from the county’s desire to assert more control over the disposal and utilization of bio-solids. Under the terms of the partnership, Pasco County receives nearly half of the revenue from each fertilizer sale, significantly reducing landfill and transportation costs.

Ted Merrell, co-owner of Merrell Brothers which owns FloridaGreen, highlighted the pioneering spirit of the project. “Pasco County was willing to take a chance on a technology that hadn’t been done before,” he explained. “With their consulting engineers, we developed this technology into what you see today.”

The facility processes approximately 50,000 tons of material annually, transforming the bio-solids in a two-phase procedure. Initially, the material is dried using solar energy in expansive greenhouses. Following this, it undergoes pasteurization, removing residual moisture and converting it into uniform pellets suitable for conventional agricultural spreaders.

Merrell emphasized the adaptability and efficiency of their product, noting, “We can add different ingredients to these pellets, such as imodium sulphate, urea, potassium, other ingredients to enhance the calcium or iron so they will match up to what the final end use might be.”

The initiative has not only turned a waste management challenge into a profitable venture but also set a precedent in the state, drawing interest from other counties looking to replicate its success.