SoundGRO

SoundGRO is a Piece County, WA product sold as dry pellet fertilizer but made from sewage sludge. Hundreds of communities across the U.S. sell toxic sludge products that are typically renamed biosolids and sold or given away as "fertilizer" or "compost" (and often even labeled or marketed as "natural" or "organic").

SoundGRO is produced from sludge from Pierce County's Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. It is used by the county to fertilize Chambers Creek Properties, including the Chambers Bay golf course, and it is also sold the public. It is marketed as "100% natural organic nitrogen, also containing nutrients and micronutrients that are vital for the healthy growth of your plants."

Sales to the Public
SoundGRO is sold in bulk or 50 pound bags through a number of Washington and Oregon distributors. Additionally, in June 2007, Pierce County offered two 50-pound bags of SoundGRO to residents for free. Home gardeners are instructed to use SoundGRO on their lawns, trees, shrubs, vegetable gardens, and for annual and perennial flowers. SoundGRO is a registered fertilizer in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Biosolids
 * Sewage sludge
 * Food Rights Network
 * Sewage sludge giveaways, producers, and brands
 * The EPA's plan to bypass opposition to sewage sludge disposal
 * Water Environment Federation
 * You say biosolids, I say sewage sludge

External resources

 * SoundGRO Fertilizer - IMPORTANT INFORMATION, Masters Connection.
 * Marie Kulick, Smart Guide on Sludge Use and Food Production, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 2008.
 * Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey: EPA-822-R-08-016 and EPA-822-R-08-018, EPA, January 2009.
 * Environmental Working Group, Dumping Sewage Sludge On Organic Farms? Why USDA Should Just Say No, April, 1998.
 * Environmental Working Group, Routes of Exposure sewage sludge: EWG Research on Chemicals in sewage sludge, April 30, 1998.