Kansas City to open new wastewater plant to turn excrement into fertilizer
Kansas City will soon open an updated wastewater treatment facility, which will turn poop into fertilizer.
KC Water’s ribbon cutting for the Blue River Biosolids Facility is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6. The facility is located in the industrial area of Kansas City’s Northeast, near Interstate 435.
This will be one of nine working facilities in the U.S. using a thermal hydrolysis process. Working like a pressure cooker, the facility will heat waste under pressure and add bacteria. The leftover solids are safe to use as a fertilizer and gas produced in the process is used as renewable energy.
Previously, the city burned flushed waste, leaving an odor around Blue River and I-435. Officials said in 2021 that the new system will mostly eliminate the smell.
