By Paula Pyzik Scott

The Bluffton Schools cancelled on Tuesday, September 8, due to a biodigester malfunction causing smoke in the Middle School and Elementary School. 

On the afternoon of Sept. 8, a commercial cleaning company will clean the air, walls and anything else, as needed.

Superintendent Greg Denecker explains that the biodigester is a kind of food composter that was installed some three years ago with support from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The biodigester heats up food waste that is separated from lunchroom trash and creates a product that looks like black mulch. The process has been a smooth operation with the product picked up in containers every couple of months.

Denecker hypothesizes that the auger make have stopped working, causing the unit to heat up already processed materials.

At the time of the announcement, the Bluffton Schools email system and text alert system were working for some on the list, but not for everyone.

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