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Reply to Nicaragua posting

Read your note. The following may be of interest to the agricultural support
industries in the region. It describes a process for converting urban and
other organic waste to an enriched organic base fertilizer that could help
the soils you describe retain their fertility or restore soils that have been
depleted. Our company has project development rights in the region, and we
are looking for regional strategic partners.

Sincerely, Rees Clark



One Man's Sludge Is Another Man's Opportunity

By A. Rees Clark, PhD
Environmental Concerns Inc.

Suppose that the sewage sludge, manure, lawn and garden debris and industrial
and commercial food processing wastes now being generated in your community
were not going to the landfill but instead were the basis of a valuable
commodity, in demand worldwide. Suppose that the technology for conversion of
these wastes into the new product provided local jobs and contributed to long
term renewal of our agricultural resources. Suppose all this cost less than
competing methods of disposal. Suppose that a waste control strategy based on
this technology transferred power and control to local interests instead of
remote bureaucracies. Would you be interested enough to read on?

Environmental Concerns Inc. (ECI) is a small group of environmental
entrepreneurs dedicated to bringing innovative technologies to the
marketplace of environmental remediation. Most good ideas originate in small
companies, and we are working with selected process developers to market
their proven technologies.

We at ECI are pleased to report that a new process that manufactures a high
quality fertilizer from a variety of organic waste streams is now available
to waste generators, both industrial and municipal. Our friends at FPM Corp.
are making a silk purse of 5-5-5 NPK fertilizer out of sewage sludge,
manures, and other organic waste feedstocks (a sow's ear if ever I heard of
one).

Organic waste like sewage or food processing waste has most of the nutrients
required for plant growth, including trace nutrients. But it normally does
not provide the stimulus of high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
(NPK) that farmers and horticulturists want to provide the rapid growth that
helps them make a profit. The FPM process adds very small amounts of such
materials as dolomite and rock phosphate, for example, to the organic waste
stream to boost the quick-growth chemicals needed for commercial agriculture.
This combination, which we call enriched organic fertilizer (EOF), has been
shown to provide rapid plant growth that exceeds the productivity of chemical
fertilizers in the current crop, while providing slow enrichment that
rebuilds the soil for many seasons to come. In most cases, the 5-5-5 NPK
fertilizers provide higher yields than chemical fertilizers with
concentrations as high as 15-15-15. The superiority of the EOF is most
pronounced after several seasons or crop rotations allow soil redevelopment.

Chemical fertilizers are superb at giving quick return, but overuse can
actually damage soils by overdrawing locally available minor nutrients and by
concentrating the fertilizers and their byproducts. Organic fertilizers are
great at soil amendment, but they do not give the economic return needed for
commercial agriculture.

The FPM process combines the best of both. It gives the user all the benefits
of organic fertilizer (such as manures and composts), plus the benefits of a
small boost of growth stimulating major nutrients. 

Productivity studies have been conducted by recognized institutions in the US
and overseas. Some exemplary results (apologies to nonfarmers) based on side
by side comparisons include: (1) russet potatoes, increased production 2.28
tons/acre; 17% increase in volume of potatoes 10 oz or more and a 1.5%
decrease in hollow heart; (2) alfalfa, average increase of protein content of
over 20%; (3) carrots, So. California truck crops 30% increase by weight; (4)
tomatoes, consistently larger and of subjectively better texture. A major US
Department of Agriculture comparative study is now in progress.

Because the process uses waste products as its feedstock, raw material costs
and therefore fertilizer prices are low. Fertilizer manufacturing can
actually be a profitable local industry in medium to large cities, where
production can be be based on sewage plus garden and food waste, and in
agricultural areas, where crop residues and manures can be the feedstock.
This process cleans up the environment, reduces dependence on chemical
fertilizers, and improves the quality of agricultural produce.

Here are the general economic characteristics of the enterprise. The standard
system can produce up to 300 tons of fertilizer per day (which equates about
one to one with the raw material we dispose of). This is not a design or an
idea or a project or a term paper; the plant is operating in the northwestern
US, and visits can be arranged for qualified project developers or
prospective plant owner/operators. Approximately $4 million is required to
develop a facility for processing 300 tons of organic waste per day--about
half the waste stream of a city of 300,000 people; this compares favorably to
other competing capital programs. There are two main sources of revenue.
Comparable fertilizers (based on equivalent plant yield and soil amendment)
sell at wholesale for $150 to $200 per ton and at retail for up to $750 per
ton. Waste generators in the USA pay from $10 to $150 per ton to dispose of
waste materials that are suitable for the process. Production costs are low.

Our role at ECI is to identify and develop fertilizer manufacturing
opportunities. We're now working on projects in the USA and overseas, and we
are interested in identifying potential projects, especially outside the USA.
 Prospective developers will need to be interested and skillful in (a)
attracting or controlling a waste stream, (b) obtaining local regulatory
approval(s), (c) marketing fertilizer in your regional agricultural context,
and (d) capital formation. If you are (a) a generator of organic waste
(industrial, agricultural or municipal--including sewage treatment), (b) a
waste hauler, (c) a regulator, or (d) another concerned person and you want
more information on why we're so enthusiastic, let me hear from you.

Permission to copy is granted if full attribution is included.

A. Rees Clark, PhD
Environmental Concerns Inc.
1065 12th Ave NW E1
Issaquah, WA 98027
(206)391-1951
reesc@aol.com
(This article is also available in Spanish.)