New York City’s massive wastewater utility is seeking partners to help divert 100% of the city’s biosolids from landfills to beneficial uses by 2030. A citywide commitment to reduce greenhouse gasses is a major driver of the pivot, as is the dramatically rising cost of landfill disposal. As an extremely densely populated urban area, New York City has minimal space for land application of biosolids. That’s why the city’s Department of Environmental Protection is releasing a series of solicitations to identify partners both within the city and around the region for conventional land application and alternative beneficial uses of biosolids.

With an estimated population of 8.26 million people, New York City operates on a colossal scale. The city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the largest combined water and wastewater utility in the United States. DEP is, in turn, just one of more than 35 agencies across the city’s government making major changes as part of the city’s ambitious climate action plan. 

In a presentation to the Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association back in 2021, Natalia Perez of DEP’s Bureau of Wastewater Treatment, talked about how DEP’s Biosolids Beneficial Use Plan will contribute to the city’s aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG)-reduction and resource-recovery goals. “Given the fact that we’re such a large and complex utility, we have 3 simultaneous pathways,” she said. The pathways are 1) A plan to achieve energy neutrality at all of the city’s water resource recovery facilities; 2) Investments in solids-related capital projects to reduce the overall volume of biosolids and improve quality; 3) A contracting strategy which will eventually replace all biosolids management contracts with contracts requiring beneficial reuse. “DEP is already on a path to divert waste from landfills,” Perez said, “Since 2018 there’s been a steady increase in the percentage of biosolids that are beneficially reused,” she said. 

With approximately 1,300 wet tons of dewatered biosolids each day, the city faces monumental tasks in reaching and maintaining 100% beneficial reuse. But the current pivot is far from the first time that the city has changed its human-waste management strategy. As illustrated in a StoryMap by NYC H20, the city started treating sewage before discharging it into the surrounding waters in the late 1880s following a population explosion. After odor became an issue, among other problems, the city shifted to transporting sludge 12 miles offshore before dumping it. Starting with barges and adding tankers in the 1930s, the city continued to use the 12-mile site until 1987, despite pressure from the EPA after the passage of the Clean Water Act. From 1987 to 1992, the city continued ocean dumping, but at a site 106 miles offshore. The city had to cease the practice after Congress passed the Ocean Dumping Ban Act. From 1992 to 2010, all of the city’s biosolids were dried and transported to land application sites in states including Colorado and Florida. In 2010, budget constraints drove the city to start sending 100% of its biosolids to landfills. The city reached its current turning point as a result of the drastic increase in the cost of landfill disposal and the city’s serious commitment to lowering its GHGs. 

As DEP plans to pivot back to 100% beneficial reuse, the agency has been using the Biosolids Emissions Assessment Model (BEAM) to calculate the GHGs associated with various aspects of biosolids management. Simply shifting away from landfill disposal will be an improvement, but DEP is planning to limit greenhouse gas emissions in a variety of ways. Notably, DEP intends to find beneficial uses within the city for 5% of the city’s dewatered biosolids, a change that will be paired with capital improvements to improve the quality of biosolids that the city can produce. DEP is also planning to include beneficial reuse of biogas and expanded co-digestion in its long-term biosolids management plan. DEP staff members gave another presentation earlier this month for the Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association about the currently open In-city Biosolids Request of Expressions of Interest (RFEI) and a forthcoming Regional Biosolids Reuse RFEI. To be added to the email distribution list for the Regional Biosolids Reuse Requests for Expressions of Interest (RFEI), contact Andrea Bianco (abianco@dep.nyc.gov ).

New York City’s planned pivot has the potential to have a wide-reaching impact. “Since we’re such a large biosolids producer,” said Natalia Perez of DEP, “we’re looking to advocate for different types of markets and hopefully help grow the overall demand for beneficial reuse products.”

Additional Resources  

●     2021 NYC DEP presentation Planning to Pivot (starts 33 minutes into recording).

●     NYC biosolids management history: StoryMap by NYC H20 (login not needed to view)