Mayor Cavalier Johnson proclaimed Earth Day in Milwaukee as “Veolia Ecofactory Day.”
Mayor Cavalier Johnson proclaimed Earth Day in Milwaukee as “Veolia Ecofactory Day.”
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Mayor Cavalier Johnson proclaimed Earth Day in Milwaukee as “Veolia Ecofactory Day.”
On the shores of Lake Michigan with Mother Nature’s beauty on full display, Milwaukee became the first U.S. city to receive a global recognition for sustainable wastewater practices on Earth Day.
Veolia, the company that partners with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) to operate Milwaukee’s wastewater treatment facilities, designated the system as an Ecofactory.
“What a better way to take some of the work that we’ve been doing at Jones Island and our reclamation facilities and begin to take that more as an Ecofactory with common themes around decarbonization and energy efficiency and energy renewal, as well as its workforce component,” said Pete Coffaro, the director of engagement with MMSD.
Monday morning, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson proclaimed April 22 as “Veolia Ecofactory Day” to annually celebrate the work Milwaukee is doing to reuse, reduce and recycle wastewater.
Karine Rougé, the CEO of the municipal water division at Veolia North America said Milwaukee has been a visionary in leading the way in wastewater sustainability for nearly a century.
Since 1925, Milwaukee has reused waste from wastewater to produce Milorganite fertilizer, create new power sources and reduce landfill use.
“We use microorganisms, little bugs,” Coffaro explained. “They come in, they eat the waste, they eventually die. It’s a happy short life. We dry them and put them in dryers at a very high temperature and package that and then sell those biosolids all across the country.”
A sustainable effort MMSD hopes will inspire other cities nationwide and help foster a bright future for the next generation.
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