It is being used at Alachua County farms to test the liquid's effect on crop growth, from persimmon and walnuts to organic broccoli and cabbage. Recycling food waste could benefit landfills, which are pressed for space. The process could also help farmers who could always use better, cheaper fertilizer, O'Keefe said. You're putting resources back on the soil. The digester consists of two, 1,500-gallon steel tanks wrapped in thick layers of fiberglass.
Garbage is dumped by hand through chutes on top.
Bacteria inside the digester eat the garbage, producing methane gas and a nitrogen and phosphorus-rich liquid. The gas is heated, causing the bacteria to eat more and create more of the life-giving juice. For every ton of food waste, the digester produces about 200 gallons of fertilizer, O'Keefe said. That could add up to thousands of dollars worth of fertilizer a year for farmers, O'Keefe said. All rights reserved.