Experts recommend that you have your septic tank pumped every three to five years, depending on the size of your tank and the size of your household. While having your septic tank inspected and having it pumped gives you peace of mind, you may not have considered what happens to the waste when it’s pumped out and taken away.

Septic Tank Waste Is Surprisingly Versatile

There may be more than 60 million homes in the United States that have a private septic system. The waste from all those tanks needs to be processed. Before, the professionals who pumped their local septic tanks could transport the waste to a designated area and dispose of it. There are still dump sites, but they’re repurposed. Septic tank pumpers now haul waste to treatment plants. Many of these plants also process waste from the municipal sewer system.

There are also private companies that handle waste from private septic tanks. The formal name for this waste is septage. Some of these companies receive permission to put the septage in landfills that they set aside for it. These landfills are few and far between nowadays, but they also generate the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide.

What Happens at a Waste Treatment Plant?

Most of the time, the septic tank crew takes your septage to a waste treatment plant. This plant behaves very much like a super-sized, more sophisticated septic tank. When workers take the waste material from the tank of the truck, they separate the solids and liquids at the plant. We pass the septage through a bar screen. Grit chambers remove harmful sand bits from the equipment. A skimmer cleans the grit-free liquid by removing the remaining solids, such as fats and oils. They treat the water until it reaches a level of cleanliness suitable for discharge into a body of water.

A few things can happen to the sludge that’s left behind:

• Burned
• Turned into fertilizer
• Used to generate electricity

Septage Used to Make Electricity

One interesting way some people use septic tank waste is in generating electricity. Septage gives off methane and carbon dioxide as it’s broken down by bacteria. Professional can capture the methane in septic tank solid waste and use it as fuel. The process is complex and a little expensive, but it’s promising.

Call Us for Septic Tank Service

A working, well-maintained septic tank makes life in your home not only comfortable but also possible. If it’s time to pump your septic tank, contact our professionals at Tampa Septic Company in Tampa, FL.