BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Los Angeles sludge trucking its way into Kern County might not be as bad as local residents think, according to one Bakersfield entrepreneur.

As sludge ships into the valley, Stan Ellis of Global Mastics claims it can be developed into a filler for asphalt, or even converted into energy.

Recently, a federal judge overturned Measure E’s Kern County ban on Los Angeles sludge, claiming such a move was unconstitutional. Since Measure E was overturned, Los Angeles companies are now free to bring sludge into the county.

What Ellis suggests is it might just be a matter of monetizing the sludge flow trucked into the county. Turning sludge into profit could make a huge difference in swaying public opinion that Kern County is simply a dumping ground for Los Angeles sludge.

Global Mastics creates dried solids from raw refinery sludge. The dried petroleum-based solids are transformed into a filler material that helps bind asphalt. Ellis claims the filler makes for stronger roads.

“I’m excited every day I come to work,” Ellis said. “I can’t wait to get here.”

That’s because Ellis is excited about creating uses for waste material.

Global Mastics is currently developing technology to transform rubber tires into a similar binder material. Ellis said developing such a process is revolutionary and will help solve the vulcanized rubber glut that affects America today.

“There’s no need for landfills. We should have zero waste. We don’t have to throw a single thing away,” Ellis said.

He recently bought a condensed log-making facility in McFarland to transform sawdust from one area of his facility into logs that can be burned.

“I was happy to create a way to not have sawdust waste from the portable dance floors we make.”

The key, like the mineral filler, is in making usable material from dried raw materials like sawdust, dried refinery waste or dried bio-solids.

Bio-solid sludge waste, according to Ellis, can be put through a similar drying and separating process as refinery sludge.

Ellis opened a jar of dried refinery sludge and displayed dried bio-waste sludge on a laboratory table. Both piles of powdery material looked very similar, although the bio-solids seemed a little more course.

Creating dried bio-solid asphalt fillers would be the same process used in refinery-based fillers. Water and unusable material must be drained from usable solids using complex heating and centrifuges. The materials are then dried and processed.

The only reason Ellis doesn’t transform bio-solids into such filler material is because his company can make more money using refinery sludge. Converting Los Angeles sludge into a filler-related product could take five years for any company to develop into a solid business.

Creating filler material out of Los Angeles sludge isn’t Ellis’ only solution. He also discussed with ABC23 how sludge can be used to create energy.

He discussed how a plant could be built that converts sun-dried sludge into fuel. That fuel could be transformed into steam energy and then into electricity. Ash byproducts could be transformed into a mineral filler.

Companies that need to get rid of sludge could eventually get kickbacks from the energy created.

When ABC23 wondered if Ellis was an environmentalist, Ellis said, “No. I was born and raised on a pig farm. I’m just a practical hard-working guy; a common sense guy.”

Ellis recently ran as a Republican candidate for State Assembly. Though he lost, he is still just as conservative-minded and passionate about what he calls being sensible and practical. He said, “Greenhouse gases can’t be helping us. To weigh how bad they’re hurting us? I don’t know.”

The question of whether Ellis would spearhead such a movement in Kern County is unknown. He did mention that ABC23 sparked a new interest about such a venture.

“New solutions are a lot of work,” Ellis said, adding, “It’s everybody’s burden.”