AMERICAN FORK — Thomas E. Gordon of Environmental Technologies in American Fork believes his company has the answer to one of the world's most vexing questions: "What to do with all of the waste?"
Gordon says his company, which is linked to an international research corporation, has a product that can turn dead animals and human biosolids into nitrogen-rich compost within a few weeks. The compost has no smell and leaves only a handful of undecomposed material when the process is finished.
Stewart Cowley, district manager for a Utah County landfill, vouches for the product.
"We've seen what it does. The process works," Cowley said. "We've been monitoring a test site here."
He's been concerned that the process is labor-intensive at the start, but Gordon said that's been resolved by using a grinder instead of layering in the animals carcasses by hand. There's little turning involved and the composting takes 60 to 90 days instead of six to eight months.
Cowley said wider use of the process can't come too soon. The North Pointe Solid Waste Special Service District ships 30 tons of dead animals a month to the East Carbon Development Corp. landfill in Eureka.
With processing plants like Kuhni's moving out of Provo and the population expanding, the transfer station, where residents can dump their unwanted trash and other waste, receives more dead animals and road kill all the time, he said.
The waste usually arrives in foul condition and leaves even more rank after sitting in hot box cars for a couple of days.
"I have a hard time putting toxic loads on the train," Cowley said. "Plus, we don't know how much longer they're going to accept it."
Gordon's company plans to start construction on its first plan in two months.
Within the next couple of years, Environmental Technologies also plans to put up an 80-acre plant west of American Fork that will accept and compost animal remains and biosolids.
Right now, there are sites operating in California, Rhode Island, Colorado and in Utah composting dairy manure, grape crushings, and dead animals. They're all seeing encouraging results.
The secret involves something called the HQ Organic Catalyst, developed by Harvest Quest International. It can be created anywhere in the world, but the competition can't duplicate it because it changes as it's made and can't be reversed in a lab.
The catalyst microbe is a natural organic material made of bacteria and fungi. It resembles dark-colored compost, is non-toxic and odorless.
The lack of contaminates in the end product has been confirmed by university studies, including one done by Brigham Young University researchers under the direction of professor of agronomy C. Frank Williams.
"It's kind of like what penicillin did for the body. It only goes after dead cells," Gordon said.
Gordon said the process works almost in the reverse of what composters have come to expect. "Ours works from the outside in, creating its own heat," he said. "It's not caustic and it's all natural."
The bagged compost would be a big seller for gardens, farms and lawns. It costs $2 a ton to treat and would probably sell for about $15 a ton.
"It's going to be the best thing that happens to this world," Gordon said.
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com