Treating human waste the high tech way in Rexburg

Flushing the toilet is something many of us don’t think much about. For Rexburg city leaders, they’re thinking about it a lot.

“We grow one of those (apartment complexes) every year.” said Mayor Richard Woodland. “So we’re picking up about 500 to 700 people each year, and that’s a lot of flushes and we have to take care of that.”

In order to handle the growth, the city spent time researching how to handle all of those flushes. After studying several different options, the city public works director John Millar decided on pasteurization.

“We looked at this process as being more current than some other programs, well tested, and viable,” said Millar.

Pasteurizing human waste is very similar to what goes on at your local dairy. The waste is heated to high temperatures that kill all bacteria and break the waste down. The end product us easily disposed as well as it creates a class A side product that can be used and sold as fertilizer.

Millar said the plant will cost the city about $5 million, but said its a long term investment. The plant has the capacity to accept waste from up to 55 thousand people. Rexburg isn’t expected to get close to that number until the year 2040. Once the city nears that capacity, Millar said their plans allow for easy expansion, meaning the plant will have a much longer lifespan than 2040.

Rexburg city leaders said they hope to have the plant completed and working in about a year.