PASCO, Wash. – Pasco Airport has adopted an innovative method to manage the deicer used on planes, a process involving worms that could save money and surprise many.
Airport Director Buck Taft explained the necessity of this update. “From an environmental, environmentally friendly standpoint, this was by far the number one option,” he said. The airport uses between 35,000 and 40,000 gallons of deicer each year, resulting in a significant amount of wastewater.
Previously, the airport discharged this wastewater into the City of Pasco’s treatment plant. “It got to the point where our levels were high enough that it was really impacting the plant’s performance. And the City asked us to stop the flow,” Taft stated.
The idea for this solution emerged during a casual conversation when a Port of Pasco employee mentioned BioFiltro, a company specializing in using worms to break down wastewater from food processors and slaughterhouses. Taft decided to explore this option for the airport’s needs.
“So we happened to call them and just say, do you think this would work for propylene glycol? They said, we don’t know. Let’s talk. And they came out, did a sample and they go, we think this will work. And we started a pilot program,” Taft explained.
The pilot program began nearly a year ago and has shown promising results. Taft said Pasco Airport will be able to return the cleaned water into the city’s wastewater treatment plant without adding strain to the system.
“We’ll be the first airport that BioFiltro knows of in the world to use this technology to treat deicing wastewater. So we’re very optimistic that this could be something that is also a positive gain for the airport industry,” Taft said. He emphasized that this was the most cost-effective option and that the savings will help keep additional costs down for travelers using the airport.
