Warragul’s sewage waste recycled

Gippsland Water has completed a major project to recycle almost 8,000 tonnes of sewage sludge from the Warragul waste water treatment plant.

Sewage sludge, also known as biosolids, was dredged from the treatment plant lagoon, dewatered and transported via 221 truckloads to Gippsland Water’s Soil and Organic Recycling Facility for composting.

Managing Director Sarah Cumming said the project is part of an ongoing commitment to protect the environment and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

“We’re working diligently to turn all of the biosolids produced at our wastewater treatment plants into compost,” Ms Cumming said.

“This equates to around 20,000 tonnes of waste that we’re recycling each year, which also reduces methane emissions.”

Ms Cumming said the desludging project would have additional benefits, including optimising the town’s important wastewater infrastructure.

“Importantly, it will increase wastewater service reliability for the Warragul township, which as we all know, is growing rapidly.”

The major desludging project took place between August and December, with crews finalising project decommissioning in late March.

“We’d like to thank the local community for taking extra care around the site while the works were conducted,” Ms Cumming concluded.