NATECH Uses Innovation Voucher To Test New Septic System Materials

If you’re a city slicker, chances are you don’t think much about what happens to what you flush down the toilet and wash down the sink. That’s because municipalities have large sewage treatment systems that filter and churn and return clean water to the environment. But if you live in the country, you’ve got to have your own. With stringent regulations attached, such a system must include what’s called a « septic field » or “on –site disposal field” that, over time, filters and cleans wastewater as it sinks back into the water table.

If you live in a rural area or have a summer cottage, you know what this means in terms of time and effort. It’s costly and how it’s constructed depends on the composition of the soil and earth beneath the surface. Some properties might have too much sand and others not enough. There can be too much clay or massive rock formations. All of this creates uncertainty both in terms of price and methodology.

One New Brunswick company, NATECH Environmental has a solution, and with a $80,000 innovation voucher from NBIF and $20,000 of their own, are testing, refining and preparing it for market introduction. The research is being conducted at RPC in Fredericton, where NATECH found the laboratories and experts they needed to fast track and optimize their innovation.

So what is it? New, environmentally friendly manufactured materials that replace the need for specific types of sand and gravel. How will it benefit people and the environment? For the environment, it will standardize the materials used in septic fields and reduce the need for mining, crushing, lifting, transporting and dumping very heavy loads of sand and rock. NATECH’s materials are a fraction of the weight by comparison and they work in any location.

It has been said, « Set a standard, make a fortune, » which could very well happen for this innovative company. With widespread use, it’ll be more like « set a standard, save a fortune, » for the environment. When considering the amount of time, money and energy that is typically spent on customizing solutions and moving earth, NATECH’s technology sounds like a true win-win.