FAQS

What are Nutrients?

Nutrients mean materials such as animal manure, chemical fertilizers and/or biosolids which are added to land to enhance plant growth.

Hey, wait a minute, where did the Biosolids come from, and what are they?

I was waiting for you to ask. Biosolids, also called SLUDGE, is the waste left after primary treatment of sewage. The liquid has mainly been removed, and hopefully remediated, and the residual sludge or semi-solid waste is called biosolids.

These biosolids (what a polite name for it) contain not only human waste from toilets, but also contain heavy metals from chemicals and other products flushed or spilled down the drains.

To avoid too much contamination from the heavy metals, Ontario sets a limit on the amount of heavy metals allowed to be spread on the land. If the content is too high then the sludge is diluted with more sludge until an acceptable level is achieved.