CSU needs landfill for sterilized animal remains

By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News

Pending state approval, sterilized remains of animals from Colorado State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital--including wildlife infected with chronic wasting disease--may be headed for the county landfill on South Taft Hill Road.

Produced from a new "digester" that destroys all disease-causing pathogens and renders the carcasses harmless, the dried and inert material would be buried like any other solid waste.

"This is really the way to go," said Earlie Thomas, CSU's director of environmental health services. "Our opinion is it's harmless waste."

Previously the animal remains were liquefied, sterilized and deposited in the Fort Collins sewage system for disposal. But it was expensive, costing the university up to $7,000 a month, because it placed a huge burden on the city sewage system equal to 20,000 toilets being flushed at the same time, according to Thomas.

He said CSU no longer uses that method and currently disposes of dead animals at a lined landfill outside the county. Thomas said landfilled remains do not, however, include deer and elk submitted for chronic wasting disease testing. The university does not now have such remains, he said, and is unlikely to receive any more until next hunting season.

Thomas said the new digester mixes the animal remains with sodium hydroxide and water, creating a slurry. The liquid is then extracted, resulting in an inert crystalline cube of amino acids, the building blocks for proteins, he explained. The material resembles rock candy, Thomas said.

The cubes don't fit into any of the traditional definitions of waste, Thomas said, so CSU asked the county commissioners and health officials to review the proposal. Both bodies expressed their support, although the final decision rests with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, according to county solid waste director Stephen Gillette.

Thomas said the state is reviewing the proposal and he expects a decision in 30 to 60 days. Typically, he estimated, one block of waste would be produced daily or two blocks at the most in peak periods.