(Maysville KY) Earlier today, July 14, 2020, during the July Mason County Fiscal Court Meeting, the Court agreed to enter into an agreement with Beneficial Reuse Management, LLC, a Chicago Illinois company to sell 1.3 Million tons of synthetic gypsum originally taken into the Mason County Landfill to be used for a variety of commercial and agricultural applications.
According to BRM’s website, “No other company has the extensive experience as BRM in the area of creating and managing beneficial reuse programs for utilities and foundries. Thus far, BRM has diverted more than 4 million tons of industrial byproducts to beneficial reuse from alternative landfill disposal and this year is handling an average of 4000 tons of materials each day.”
According to Mason County Landfill Director Todd Leonard, BRM approached the County several months ago inquiring about the synthetic gypsum originally accepted in the landfill from Dayton Power& Light. Leonard said, “The more Judge-Executive Pfeffer, myself and MMCIDA Director Owen McNeill evaluated and discussed the project, the better it became. Not only have we found a company willing to purchase the material, but they’ll excavate and haul it themselves. This project will provide additional revenue to the Landfill and County as well as enable us to repurpose the capping dollars already received from the DP&L. Additionally, we’ll be able to repurpose that landfill cell, once they’ve excavated the product, greatly extending the life of the landfill and saving the significant costs associated with constructing a new cell.”
Mason County Judge-Executive Joe Pfeffer stated, “ I was elated when we were first approached by BRM. While it did seem to be an attractive deal, the more we evaluated the project, the more I became convinced. In my mind, we’re taking a long term expense for the County and Landfill and creating a revenue stream for Mason County.” Pfeffer continued, “In essence, this project is the definition of a ‘green project’ as well. The ability to re-use and repurpose this cell completely changes the long term life span of the landfill.”
Leonard explained that BRM will be using the synthetic gypsum in one of three various marketable areas. They include applications in the agricultural, drywall, and cement markets. For agricultural purposes, it’s a fertilizer that, once is pelletized, slowly and predictably adds calcium sulfate to cropland making it more fertile.
“That’s the exciting part of this deal”, McNeill said. “The reuse and expansion possibilities for the landfill and green implications are outstanding however we are also working with BRM to potentially bring a pelletizer plant to Maysville. On top of the economic benefits to our region from trucking, barge, and excavating of the product, we would love to see the additional full-time jobs created by the pelletizer plant. This truly has the capabilities of being quite an impactful contract for the landfill, County, and region.”