North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Jim Fruth" <jfruth@uslink.net>]

   When I worked for Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the manufacturers of 
Kleenix, I managed a project intended to detoxify paper mill sludge.  Paper 
mill sludge that contains copious amounts of cadmium as well as other heavy 
metals is prohibited from being landfilled.  While many plants take up these 
heavy metals, Equisetum spp., or Scouring Rush, as it is commonly called, 
(We mainly worked with E. hyemale) performed the task more efficiently than 
any other tested plant.  We dug up rhizomes and planted them in concentrated 
sludge.  Then, at the end of the growing season, we landfilled the 
above-ground portion and, after a few growing seasons, the sludge was 
sufficiently detoxified to be landfilled.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
www.bberryfarm.com
(218)568-8483 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]