Cambridge, Ontario’s Lystek International Ltd. has been awarded a multi-year contract by the City of Petaluma for Diversified Reuse of Biosolids.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lystek will accept Class B biosolids generated in Petaluma and convert them into LysteGro®, a US EPA, Class A EQ (Exceptional Quality) biofertilizer product at its 150,000 ton, state-of-the-art, Organic Material Recovery Center, located at the Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District (FSSD) in California (OMRC-FSSD).
Opened in August 2016, the OMRC-FSSD is now celebrating its first full year of successful operations in this unique, P3-style partnership, and it’s rapidly contributing to the company’s overall ability to divert hundreds of thousands of tons of biosolids from North American landfills annually. The facility opened with a baseline volume of 14,000 tons per year from the District, and it has now secured additional volume commitments from numerous, other Bay Area agencies, including Santa Rosa and San Francisco.
California regulations around the use and management of biosolids and organics have evolved. Once considered waste, leading companies like Lystek are leveraging years of sound science and research to provide advanced solutions that prove the value of biosolids as a renewable resource.
In fact, the LysteGro product made at the OMRC-FSSD was able to garner a unique trifecta in its first year, including the Class A EQ classification from the US EPA, a license from the California Department of Food and Agriculture as bulk fertilizer and acceptance as an agricultural product by the Solano County Department of Agriculture. These recognitions remove the traditional barriers and prohibitions imposed on historical, Class B land application practices. As such, demand for the high quality, LysteGro product is already outpacing supply with all initial production of the available material being sold to local farmers and ranchers in a four-month period and a growing waiting list for the fall 2017 fertilizer application season.
“With a progressive approach to biosolids management and a strong sense of environmental responsibility, the City of Petaluma was one of the first agencies to engage with us,” said Kurt Meyer, president of Lystek. “This agreement marks the sixth customer seeking affordable, sustainable, year-round organics management in the San Francisco Bay area from our innovative, resource recovery center.”
