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Working Waste To Energy

The use of trees to turn effluent into energy is being studied by Massey University and meat packers and exporters, Richmond Ltd.

Stands of eucalyptus trees will be coppiced to provide an energy source for Richmond's Oringi meat works, reducing its annual coal use of 4000 tonnes. Coppicing involves growing a dense stand of small trees which are cut back every 3-5 years to produce a continual supply of wood. Richmond plans to plant 90 hectares of trees over a three-year period.

The company has already been using eucalypts to process freezing works waste, spraying the trees with the waste water. A five-year trial of this has shown that the rapidly growing coppice trees purify waste water by removing nitrogen and other potentially polluting chemicals form the soil [Winning With Waste, December 1991].

A Massey University postgraduate student, Ha-mish Lowe, has recently been appointed to investigate the necessary wood harvesting, handling and storage systems.