7,122
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
SW: edit
{{#badges: WaterEnergy}}
'''Biosolids''' is the euphemistic and invented name PR euphemism chosen for [[sewage sludge]] in a PR contest by the lobby association for U.S. sewage treatment plants, the [[Water Environment Federation]] (WEF), for [[sewage sludge]].
Authors John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton tell the history of the word "biosolids" in their 1995 book ''Toxic Sludge is Good for You''. "The ([[Water Environment Federation]]'s) proposal to create a 'Name Change Task Force' originated with [[Peter Machno]], manager of Seattle's sludge program, after protesters mobilized against his plan to spread sludge on local tree farms. 'If I knocked on your door and said I've got this beneficial product called sludge, what are you going to say?' he asked. At Machno's suggestion, the Federation newsletter published a request for alternative names. Members sent in over 250 suggestions including 'all growth,' 'purenutri,' 'biolife,' 'bioslurp,' 'blackgold,' 'geoslime,' 'sca-doo,' 'the end product,' 'humanure,' 'hu-doo,' 'organic residuals,' 'bioresidue,' 'urban biomass,' 'powergro,' 'organite,' 'recylite,' nutricake,' and 'ROSE,' short for 'recycling of solids environmentally.' In June of 1991 the Name Change Task Force fnally settled on ''''biosolids''',' which it defined as 'the nutrient-rich organic byproduct of the nation's wastewater treatment process.'" <ref> John Stauber and Sheldon Ramtpon, [http://www.prwatch.org/tsigfy.html Toxic Sludge Is Good For You! LIes, Damned Lies and the Public Relations Industry], Pages 105-106, Common Courage Press, 1995.</ref>
