FAQs

Biosolids are created when municipal wastewater treatment facilities separate municipal wastewater into liquid (clean water that can be discharged to a nearby waterbody) and the leftover solids. These leftover solids go through additional treatment processes to prepare them for land application or disposal.

Currently, the biosolids that come from wastewater treatment facilities in Picton and Wellington are hauled outside of the municipality for application on farmland in another community.

Since 2007, the County has used a couple of different processes for disposing of its wastewater biosolids. 

Up to the summer of 2007, the municipality worked with a consultant and a hauling company to dispose of its wastewater biosolids on farms within Prince Edward County. Biosolids produced by other municipalities were also hauled into the County and applied on farms with Prince Edward County. 

Between 2007 and 2016, a new disposal practice started that involved de-watering and hauling of dried biosolids to a location outside Prince Edward County.

In 2017, the practice of de-watering biosolids produced in Prince Edward County was discontinued. Currently, the biosolids are applied on land outside the County.

A previous Council passed a motion declaring a moratorium on the application of biosolids on farmland in Prince Edward County. 

In 2021, Council directed staff to consult on a draft by-law, and return to Council with a report regarding the application of municipal biosolids within Prince Edward County.