Wood waste combustor could produce income for county

Roxanne McKnight with The Meteor

Madison County is considering using a new technology that would not only cut down on landfill material but could even produce a revenue stream.

Ronnie Crochet, president of the Crochet Equipment Company of Baton Rouge, made a presentation at the Commissioners Court meeting on Monday, April 28, showing his product, a special high-temperature wood waste combustor that burns wood and paper products so efficiently it reduces them by 99.3 percent. This would leave only non-wood products to go into the landfills, significantly slowing the rate at which they fill up.

The small amount of ash that is produced by the combustor is 9-10 pH, so it is classified as beneficial and can be used in various applications, for example adding it to acidic soil to balance its pH, or using it as lining material for animal cages.

The technology uses temperatures of 2,000 degrees and a cyclonic wind feature that produces no smoke or fumes, only hot air. Consequently, it is FDA-approved and would not degrade the county's air quality.

Besides reducing landfill material and producing beneficial ash, another advantage presented by the company is the option of producing an income stream by allowing private haulers and other entities, such as nearby counties, to take their wood and paper products to the Madison County unit in exchange for fees that would be competitive for them.

If Madison County decides to utilize this service, Crochet said that he would only need the use of a parcel of land. The Crochet Company would “design, manufacture, install, own, operate, maintain and permit its Model CEC 4030 EPA-approved wood waste combustor.”

In other words, the company would take care of all the details in return for a share in the profits. Both the company and county would benefit. Since the county only provides the use of the land, there is no capital outlay involved.

According to Crochet, such units are in use in Chicago and other cities across the United States, and have turned an expense into a profit.

After the presentation, County Judge Art Henson told Crochet the court would consider the presentation and get back to him.

“I think it's certainly something we need to look at,” said Henson after the meeting. “On the surface it sounds good. I think a lot of it will depend on how much surrounding support we can get for this so we can generate enough of this type of material that would afford to pay him to keep it here and let us to continue to be a part of it.”

In other action, commissioners voted to proclaim the week of April 27-May 4 Soil and Water Stewardship Week.