Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Biosolids for Treatment for Plants

Before I started this topic for this unit my first impression of talking about biosolids for treatment of plants was disgusting. Before doing this unit I was not aware that you can use your own waste to fertilize plants. There are many pros and cons of this method of growing plants. The pros can be that it can help grow any plant needed at a faster rate and allow the plants that are being grown to have the proper nutrients its needs. Biosolids have many more pros, it can help reduce the amount of soil erosion, enrich the forest lands with the proper nutrients, protect water quality, provide topsoil, and conserve landfill spaces. If you think about it, if our human waste is being used to preserve land and be used as treatment for plants and vegitables, then that basically means that whatever is put into the grown to help the plants is what we end up consuming which then turns into a huge cycle of realeasing and consuming our own wastes. Having biosolids as a treatment for plants and soil cuts back on expensives the city has to pay on buying fertilizers and other really expensive things to help keep up with the soils. So far, it clearly shows that biosolids haven't affected humans health in anyway. Everyone is still fine, and no major diseases came from biosolids yet. Biosolid treatment is alot easier for farmers who own a farm because it allows them to make their own biosolid instead of having treatments and/ or biosolids from other parts of the country sent to them to use.

Biosolids also has it cons. People who work with the biosolids treatment have to be really carefully when they are around it. It can have diseases and can be spread unto that particular person. Biosolids should definately go through many procedures before being used, just to make sure that everything is safe and nothing wrong happens to anyone. The biosolids should be held in a place that secures the smell really well because it can he hazardous to people around it. Biosolids should be secured from faming animals just for saftey reasons.  



Even though Biosolids may sound gross, I believe tha its a great contribution to our plant, and forest to stay health and for growth. I do believe that it ws one of the cheapest/ affordable ways to keep the plants and everything else that resolves around it heathly. I do hpe that this way of perserving the environment keeps on going and prospers. Its been working out for many years now and there as been no problems or complains.












Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sludge
http://www.cwwa.ca/faqbiosolids_e.asp
Picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sludge

Comments:
Anker: http://ankerlovesbio.blogspot.com/2011/04/biosolids-ew-but-wait.html?showComment=1307607663942#c3196022090345243315
Joan: http://ballinlikeabiostar.blogspot.com/2011/06/and-you-thought-it-just-ended-up-in.html?showComment=1307607969366#c6751624475978961950