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Safety

You may wonder how anything that’s made out of treated sewage can be safe - and good - to use in gardening and landscaping. In fact, TAGRO products are packed with nutrients that plants need and thrive on. And, safety is always our number-one concern as we make products out of biosolids. In fact, it’s the law. Today, modern treatment processes and strict controls on what is discharged into sewers contribute to high quality, recyclable—and safe—biosolids.

With the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972, municipalities instituted programs to control the quality of wastewater discharged to the wastewater treatment system. Called pretreatment or source control programs, they have significantly improved the quality of our recycled water and biosolids. Businesses now recycle or use fewer hazardous products as a result of pretreatment programs.

You may have heard news stories about public outcry against the land application of biosolids on farmland. That type of biosolids is called Class B. Although this level of treatment is generally safe, Tacoma chose a different and more strenuous process for its biosolids to ensure that our products would be completely pathogen free.

Our biosolids are so safe the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls them “Class A-Exceptional Quality,” the agency’s highest rating. But we had to wait to earn this rating. As one of the pioneers of Class A biosolids treatment and product innovation, Tacoma’s treatment program preceded the EPA’s very definition for the process.

We’ve had great results from our efforts. In addition to our satisfied customers and hundreds of blue ribbons from the Puyallup Fair for vegetables grown in TAGRO, Tacoma has won awards from the EPA for its odor-free TAGRO Potting Soil product and for the best biosolids recycling program in the country.

Chances are, you contribute to the biosolids production process. Businesses and households, whether connected to sewer systems or on septic tanks, generate waste solids. And, the average person in Tacoma produces enough “raw material” to make about 40 dry pounds of processed biosolids a year.

TAGRO is recycling at its very best—creating something truly useful and beneficial out of what goes down the drain.

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