(IL) Chicago Tribune – Once championed as a cutting-edge solution to the region’s waste problems, a towering machine built to cook Chicago’s sewage into fertilizer is scheduled for its first test next month off the Stevenson Expressway in west suburban Stickney.
In an odd twist, however, officials at the government agency that contracted to build the project’s 60-foot-tall sludge ovens now quietly hope the machine fails.
Cryptically nicknamed the “Black Box,” the project ultimately could cost taxpayers $217 million, but staff at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District recently concluded that the project isn’t needed to dispose of the district’s waste. They have begun exploring ways to get out of the contract and its steep price tag, which keeps growing as consultant fees and other costs pile up. More