(Fort Worth, Tx) – NBC 5 reports the Fort Worth water department has a plan to turn treated human waste into fertilizer and even sell it in stores, saving $2 million per year.

Water Dept officials outlined a plan to install a huge drying machine that would mean biosolids would weigh much less, reducing the number of trucks used to haul the stuff away from a treatment plant in East Fort Worth by five times.  Right now, the waste is trucked out of town and spread across vacant fields.  The new process would allow a contractor to sell the fertilizer to stores, lowering the city’s cost and creating a better recycled product.

As one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, Fort Worth produces 13,000 tons a month of human waste.  The council is expected to vote on the plan next month.

Fort Worth would be the first city in North Texas, and one of the few nationwide, to use the new drying process to create fertilizer.

credit:  NBC 5 DFW