Advanced Waste Management

Advanced Waste Treatment Systems "Changing Our Vision" Waste is not something to throw far away; it is a RESOURCE of VALUE The extraordinary growth and development of the tourism industry has been an economic boom for Quintana Roo, but has been devastation for the environment. Tourism based on the environment is the economic base for Quintana Roo and it is an important economic factor for México. It seems prudent to protect the onshore and offshore environments the very best we can. More growth means more waste, solid and liquid. The problem of treating and disposing of our waste grows as the population grows. There is proof of contamination of the ground water and the coral reefs are visibly under stress. Until recently effective treatment and disposal of our waste materials, were not available today is a very different story. Advanced Waste Treatment Systems Sewage Composting, Wetland Gardens, Organic Waste Composting and Materials Recovery Meet the Centro Ecológico Akumal Criteria for Effective Treatment Reduce the contamination of the groundwater by pathogens, nutrients and toxins Close the natural cycle from food to waste to food once again Are not mechanical Use little or no energy, except from the sun Produce valuable products that can be sold for reuse Create an environment that is healthful, esthetically pleasing and that adds to the enjoyment of life CEA Criteria for Effective Treatment Removes pathogens, removes nutrients, removes toxins, is low in cost to design, build and maintain, has a long life expectancy, produces nothing that contaminates, uses little or no energy, does not require highly-skilled personnel and transforms waste into products of value. Wetland Garden A SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM that uses · plants and microbes in the soil zone to - remove pathogens by 99.98% - reduce nutrients up to 85% - reduce the volume of liquid by 50 to 65% through evapo-transpiration HOW IT WORKS A wetland garden is a simple system that receives effluent from the septic tank that then slowly moves through two sealed cells filled with a variety of plants that uptake nutrients and toxins, while the microbes in the soil zone remove the pathogens. The best wetland garden systems divide the blackwater from the gray water. In this way, the more toxic, blackwater effluent is reduced in volume and the gray water gardens can be incorporated into the landscaping of the site. WETLAND GARDENS reduce the pathogenic impact from 10,000 persons to the equivalent of two individuals. This dramatic reduction of water contamination will PROTECT our health, our visitors' health, the health of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, and the economic health of Quintana Roo Composting Toilet A SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM that Uses little or no water Produces compost, which is a nutrient-rich soil enhancer Produces a high-nitrogen liquid fertilizer Guarantees there will be no water contamination HOW IT WORKS A composting toilet system is a sealed self-contained chamber where human excreta is reduced in volume by 95% to a pathogen-free, odorless compost. Urine moves through a nitrification treatment process in the treatment chamber and converts to a stable, pathogen-free, odorless, nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Does it make sense to contaminate, with our feces, the water we use to drink, bathe and wash our food, dishes and clothes? Think about it the next time you hear the sound of the flush. The Best System is a combination system using composting to treat and transform human excreta into a stable usable product and a wetland garden that takes used household wash-water, filters it and returns it to trees and plants as a nutrient-rich, pathogen-free irrigation water. With this combination system, no water is contaminated with human excreta and no sewage sludge is produced. Does that not make more sense? A WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM that Reduces the contamination of all other waste by the decay of the material Contains the nutrients and reduces contamination of the groundwater Reduces the volume of waste by 50% Produces a valuable product that returns the nutrients to the soil HOW IT WORKS Raw organic materials from the kitchen, brown organic materials such as leaves and a small amount of soil are layered together with the browns completely covering the greens to eliminate any odor and flies. Composting works best in small, aerated batches that decay rapidly and return to a rich soil enhancer. Cooked food does not mix well with raw food as it alters the quality of the compost material. Materials Recovery A WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM that Reduces the inorganic waste stream by 35% Reduces the volume of waste in the sanitary landfill Provides valuable resources that can provide an economic base to offset operating costs HOW IT WORKS The materials recovery system uses the concept of 3-category separation; Organic Clean and dry Wet and toxic Simply separate into each category and reduce the wet and toxic by washing and drying everything possible. This is not a difficult system, but it takes diligence in changing old habits. Contacts - México ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION Contact: Centro Ecológico Akumal Phone: 984/875-9095 ADVANCED WASTE TREATMENT SYSTEMS Wetland Garden Design, Construction and Landscaping Complete information on systems, costs to design, construct and maintain. CEA will put you in touch with the people who build these systems right. Contact: CEA Phone: 984/875-9095 Email: CEA NaHiXix/Composting Sewage Treatment Systems Contact: Dinah Drago Phone: 984/871-0300 Email: mayandrago@caribe.net,mx Contacts - United States Resource Institute Contact: Laura Orlando Phone: 617/524-7258 Fax: 617/522-0690 Email: resource@riles.org Planetary Coral Reef Foundation Wastewater Gardens Contact: Dr. Mark Nelson Email: Marknelson1@cs.com North American Wetland Engineering Contact: Curt Sparks Website: www.nawe.com Email: nawe@visi.com Suggested Reading Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawkin, Amory and L. Hunter Lovins, Chapter 11, 'Aqueous Solutions', and Chapter 7, 'Muda Flow' Available on the web at www.natcap.com. The entire book can be downloaded. This is a very hopeful and insightful book. The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawkin. New technologies that use system Processes and the laws of nature to create new ways of doing ecologically sustainable and restorative businesses. The Composting Toilet Book by Carol Steinfield. A very complete book on the many designs available for composting human waste. Oasis Out of Gray Water Good information on the many possibilities for the treatment of gray water using plants for the treatment. References MMWR (1994). Executive Summary Addressing Emerging Infectious Disease Threats: A Prevention Strategy for the United States, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1-16. Nelson, Mark, (1998). Limestone Wetland Mesocosm for Recycling Saline Wastewater in Coastal Yucatán, México: Ph.D. Thesis, University of Florida Paul, John H., Rose, Joan B., Brown, Jordan, Shinn, Eugene A., Miller, Steven and Farrah, Samuel R. (1995). Viral Tracer Studies Indicate Contamination of Marine Waters by Sewage Disposal Practices in Key Largo, Florida, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 61, No. 6, 2230 - 2234. Paul, John H., Rose, Joan B., Jiang, Sunny C., Zhou, Xingting, Griffin, Dale, Farrah, Samuel and Lukasik, Jerzy (1997). Evidence For Groundwater and Surface Marine Water Contamination By Waste Disposal Wells In The Florida Keys, Water Resources Volume 31 No. 6 1448-1454. Paul, John H., Rose, Joan B., Jiang, Sunny C., Kellogg, Christina A., and Dickson, Linda (1993). Distribution of Viral Abundance in the Reef Environment of Key Largo, Florida. Applied Environmental Microbiology Vol. 59, No. 3 718 - 724. Rose, Joan B. (1994) Emerging Risks Associated With Human Pathogens In Polluted Coastal Waters. Workshop on Research Needs for Coastal Pollution in Urban Areas. Sponsored by The National Science Foundation 89 - 100. Robinhawk, K. S., (2000). Propuesta Para Una Solución Viable Al Problema De Los Aguas Negras y Los Desechos Sólidos: Centro Ecológico Akumal. Shaw, C. E., (1997). Yal Kú Lagoon and North Akumal: Centro Ecológico Akumal, Environmental Report # 1. To learn more please click here for related links. click here to find related Research Papers.