A waste of waste: Auditor questions MWRA fertilizer contract

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

A 2002 photo of a plant manager with the fertilizer made from human waste.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Call it a waste of waste.

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority hasn't been taking advantage of a contract that entitled it to hundreds of tons of fertilizer pellets a year from a Quincy plant that converts sewage sludge into fertilizer, the state auditor's office said today.

Under its $146 million, 15-year contract with New England Fertilizer Co. that began in 2001, the MWRA sends sewage sludge to the plant at the Fore River Shipyard for processing. One provision in the contract calls for the MWRA to receive 900 tons of pellets, which it can sell commercially or donate to local governments or state agencies.

But the MWRA's efforts to pick up the pellets have declined, said Glenn Briere, a spokesman for State Auditor Joe DeNucci.

"I don't think they were even bothering with this," Briere said.

Briere said the MWRA has now told auditors, however, that it will notify communities that the fertilizer is available for free, if they want to pick it up from the plant.

"If you have a city and town that wants to grow grass on their playgrounds or their parks, it's theirs for the taking," he said.

MWRA spokeswoman Ria Convery said the MWRA initially had been picking up the sludge and delivering it to communities that were interested in it, but a budget crunch in 2003 had made that too expensive.

"A few people still come, but it's not the same as it was. ... We take the findings seriously and we're going to do a renewed effort" to reach out to communities to let them know the fertilizer is available, she said.

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