PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A Pasco County facility is turning waste into profit at a bio-solids processing facility known as FloridaGreen.

The facility takes left over sludge from the county’s wastewater treatment plants and recycles it into the highest rating of fertilizer. It’s a “dirty job” that is also helping the environment.

Located in a remote area of Pasco County stands rows of greenhouses. And inside are aisles upon aisles of waste.

“The uniqueness of this facility is that Pasco County was willing to take a chance on a technology that hadn’t been done before," said Ted Merrell, co-owner of Merrell Brothers, which owns FloridaGreen. "With them and their consulting engineers, we worked on developing this technology into what you see today.”

What this is, is the county’s bio-solids facility, which recycles waste into fertilizer.

“What we’re standing in right now is the first phase of a two-phase process," says Merrell. "This particular process utilizes the solar energy of the sun to drive off moisture in the bio-solids that is generated at the different wastewater plants within Pasco County.”

The waste comes in on trucks carrying between eight to 10 loads a day. From here, it is taken to the greenhouses.

“These trailers are designed to handle around 24 to 25 ton of material that we bring into the facility," Merrell says. "This facility can process upwards of 50,000 tons per year.”

This partnership between Pasco County and FloridaGreen started in 2018. Helping lead the way is co-owner Ted Merrell. The partnership blossomed when the county decided it wanted more control over where bio-solids went and how they were used.

“From the greenhouses, we bring the material in at about 60% solids," said Merrell. "So we’ve driven off a tremendous amount of the moisture before it gets to this pasteurization phase. As you can see, this is that granular material that’s coming from the greenhouses. This will be more moisture than the finished product because there’s still residual moisture that we take out during the pasteurization phase.”

It’s a step-by-step process that sees the waste gradually turned into fertilizer pellets. From assembly line to kiln and, eventually, ready for bagging.

“These are the pellets that are produced and, as you can see, these pellets are cylindrical and very consistent in size," Merrell said. "So, they spread very nicely with conventional agriculture spreaders or home and garden spreaders. We can add different ingredients to these, such as imodium sulphate, urea, potassium, other ingredients to enhance the calcium or iron so they will match up to what the final end use might be.”

It’s changing the way others are thinking about recycling waste.

“There are counties after county in the state of Florida right now that envy the position that Pasco is in because they were more reactive and now they’re in a position where they need to do something fast.”

Showing a unique method of recycling good for the environment and beyond.

Under the agreement, Pasco County receives almost half of every sale the fertilizer generates. The county also saves on landfill costs, as well as transportation to landfills. You can learn more about the bio-solids facility when you visit Pasco County's website.