Are you wondering on the safest place to dump the contents of your septic tank truck? If YES, here are the best places to dump the contents of your septic tank truck.
Wherever there’s a lot of people operating their homes’ waste systems on septic tanks, you can bet you’ll find a good number of local businesses that specialize in removing the scum and sludge that accumulate over time in the tank.
This is an important service; if too much sludge builds up over time, it can lead to overflow, which is bad for everybody. Generally, commercial septic pumping involves a pump truck removing the sludge, effluent, and scum in the tank and leaving the tank empty and ready to be filled again.
Note that once the waste is removed, there are only so many things that can be done with it. Before federal laws started restricting septic sludge dumping, waste companies would simply bury it in dump sites. As it became clear that sites like these were a health hazard, they were outlawed.
These sites remain, though many are in the process of remediation (clean-up). Today, federal and state laws govern the final destination of the contents of septic tank trucks.
Most times, the septic contents are taken to waste treatment plants and added to the stew piped in from a municipal sewer system or delivered to independent, for-profit companies specializing in the treatment of septage.
Septage may be treated in cesspools, which hold the waste while chemical or biological materials break it down into effluent. Septage may also be dumped in approved landfills. The guidelines concerning septage dumping tend to be very strict and sites can be few and far between.
Owing to the dilemma posed by disposing of septic tanks contents, septage is often used in another way: to grow our food. Unless there’s a “USDA Organic” label on it, it is possible the food on your table was grown using the sludge that used to be in your septic tank.
Have it in mind that the use of septage can be a controversial one. Proponents, including many commercial farmers, say it is a win-win situation, since municipalities don’t have to worry about what to do with the waste, and farmers get cheap fertilizer for their crops.
If leveraged correctly to cropland with good soil and a low water table, the soil should act as a filter in the exact way a drain field does in the backyard of a home with a septic tank.
However, there is another, more cutting-edge way septage is being used these days – generating electricity to power homes. Note that it is long been acknowledged that the methane produced as waste product in the breakdown of sewage could be used to generate electricity.
Although methane is a simple fuel, it can also be broken down and used to generate electricity using fuel cells located on-site at treatment plants. The electricity produced doesn’t combust, so there’s little or no pollution generated.
4 Waste Disposal Options for Septic Tank Trucks
Septic tank trucks are used to carry our household waste to a sewage treatment plant. Here it is treated so it can be reused. Many sewer systems are able to convert the sewage into clean water to be used again or returned to our waterways.
City sewer systems are usually operated by local authorities to clean and remove household waste, perform minor repairs on sewer systems, damaged pipes, frames, and covers. Here are available waste disposal options for septic tank trucks in the United States;
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Non-Electrical Sewage Treatment Plant
Note that a sustainable home sewage treatment system does not consume energy and is a good option for septic tank upgrades and new construction. Environmentally friendly sewage systems are ecological systems that are sustainably designed.
These systems are economical, energy-efficient, and good for the planet. New technologies treat sewage as an energy and nutrient source. These sewer systems use eco-friendly methods to purify water and for recycling.
Have it in mind that their exact design is dependent on location, climate, and population, but all wastewater is to be moved through a controlled environment where plant and animal organisms modify the waste in the water. “ECO” systems are a superior waste treatment options.
They are good for the environment since they do not use electricity. Non-electrical sewage treatment facilities are favored among conservationists.
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Pumping Station
Effluent that is used for drawing air into an aeration system and for moving wastewater into higher elevations is carried into a pumping station. Here, sewage collection systems are used to manage the raw sewage of subterrene gravity pipelines.
Note that a complete sewer or septic tank examination by a certified specialist can cost you less than waiting for a problem to happen.
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Cesspool
Household sewage is carried to a waste tank by a cesspool waste removal system. This is where waste is broken down by chemicals into effluent to be dumped in approved landfills. Any untreated waste is used by dry wells. Also, note that scum and sludge that build up in the tank are then filtered and removed. Septage dumping regulations are strict making cesspool sites rare.
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Gravity Drainage
Wastewater that exits a dwelling when drainage pipes are at a downward angle is called gravity drainage. Gravity pulls the waste, and the sewer line stays in this downward flow until it reaches a sewage treatment plant or septic tank.
Gravity drainage comes from a difference in elevation to remove unwanted water and will support a steady flow of water without energy consumption. Gravity drainage sewers can redirect waste into a container below ground where pumping is needed to drive sewage to a different location.
Note that when the wastewater reaches the tank, it is filtered and returned. Gravity drainage systems can keep drain entrapment away.
Conclusion
Since all of the waste collected from a septic tank is organic, sending it away in a landfill is completely prohibited. However, the heavy sludge can be sent to a landfill by removing the liquid waste (this can be done only when the company has the permit to do so).
Note that this sludge can also be converted into fertilizers for agricultural use by the process of anaerobic digestion. The most common treatment of this sludge is to create biogas and energy such as electricity.