(WKYT)Monica asks, “After they come to your house and pump your septic tank, what do they do with the waste?”
Septic tanks work by collecting solids and liquids coming from your house. Those liquids flow into a drainage field, where they are naturally filtered by the soil.
Bacteria will break down a lot of the solids, but not all of them. The EPA says a septic tank should be inspected every 1 to 3 years and pumped every 3 to 5 years.
When that material is pumped out, companies must dispose of it in approved ways due to concerns about the environment and public health.
The most common seems to be taking it to the same place the rest of us send our waste, the local wastewater treatment plant.
Two different companies, Apex Solutions and Commonwealth Septic, said they take the material to a local wastewater treatment plant.
Commonwealth Septic said they have permits at different facilities that charge their company by the gallon. She said in Jessamine County, their wastewater treatment facility charges $.07 per gallon, which is around $140 for the 2,000-gallon tank on their truck.
Another option is turning those biosolids into fertilizer. But critics of that process raise concerns about forever chemicals. Maine and Connecticut have passed comprehensive bans on the use of biosolid-based fertilizer.
There are also companies working to turn those waste solids into fuel to generate electricity. But the most common place it goes is into wastewater treatment plants.
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