DELHI TOWNSHIP, Mich. (News 10) – Food that can’t safely make it to a family’s table is getting a second life at the Delhi Township Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The township uses an anaerobic digester to process organic waste from several sources, including Holt Public Schools, nursing homes and food banks.
The process creates methane that can be captured and used to generate electricity for the wastewater treatment plant.
“All that gas is coming to the surface in the tank, capture it, clean it up, compress it, and we have it available to either run boilers, and, most specifically, run our turbine to generate electricity,” Delhi Township Environmental Coordinator Allen Bryant said.
Food that can’t safely make it to a family’s table is getting a second life at the Delhi Township Wastewater Treatment Plant.(News 10 Lansing)
The process is especially relevant as food banks and grocery stores discard more produce amid ongoing concerns about Cyclospora.
The Greater Lansing Food Bank says it has had to divert up to 1,200 pounds of food each week because of the concerns. The food bank has been sending food it cannot safely distribute to an anaerobic digester rather than a landfill.
Bryant said the township has seen more produce coming through the system in recent weeks.
“We have seen the past couple weeks, more produce. It’s always dynamic, it’s never the same thing every week,” Bryant said.
The township also collects food waste from other organizations, including schools and nursing homes. Bryant said the program helps reduce landfill waste while creating energy the plant can use.
After the digestion process, the remaining material can also be applied to farm fields as fertilizer.
“The residual material, after it’s digested, we store, and then that is applied to farm fields, because it’s rich in nutrients, phosphorus and nitrogen, it’s fertilizer, so it’s a win-win for everybody,” Bryant said.
Delhi Township says it is interested in finding more sources of organic waste to keep out of landfills and put to use through the digester.
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