Franklin Miller Offers Proven Wastewater Protection for Prisons and Jails with TASKMASTER® and SPIRALIFT® Systems

TASKMASTER® grinders and SPIRALIFT® screening systems help prisons and jails keep pumps running, cut emergency maintenance, and lower disposal costs

LIVINGSTON, N.J., September 22, 2026 — Franklin Miller Inc., a manufacturer of wastewater solids reduction and removal equipment since 1918, is spotlighting its lineup of grinders and screens engineered specifically for the demanding conditions found in correctional facility wastewater systems.

Prisons and jails generate a waste stream unlike anything a typical municipal system is designed to handle. In addition to normal sanitary flow, facility operators routinely contend with bed sheets, blankets, towels, uniforms, shoes, mop heads, plastic bags, and contraband entering the collection system through cell toilets. Much of this material is flushed intentionally, and because cell flooding is a common form of protest, the load often arrives in sudden surges rather than a steady stream. Conventional bar screens and comminutors frequently can't keep up, leading to blinded screens, overflows, and textiles wrapping around pump impellers and destroying seals and bearings. The result for many facilities is a costly cycle of emergency callouts, pump replacements, and surcharges from receiving authorities.

Grinding to Protect Pumps and Lift Stations

The TASKMASTER® TM8500 serves as the primary grinder for correctional applications. Its CUTTER CARTRIDGE® technology uses one-piece monolithic cutter elements to shear textiles, plastics, and disposables into pieces that pumps can pass without binding. The high-flow, low-headloss design handles flows from 550 to 6,653 GPM and can be installed inline, in an open channel, or in gravity applications. Because the cartridge design replaces traditional stacked cutter assemblies, there's no stack retightening and fewer parts to maintain.

For heavier-duty channels, including those that routinely see whole blankets, screening discharge, or biosolids, the TASKMASTER® TM1600 adds 2-3/4 inch hex shafting, hardened alloy steel cutters and spacers, and 10 or 15 HP drives across flows from 900 to 3,900 GPM. Both grinders use low-speed, high-torque twin-shaft cutting built to withstand deliberate abuse, and both are available with submersible or explosion-proof motors and hydraulic drives.

Screening, Washing, and Dewatering at the Headworks

Where facilities need to remove solids rather than simply reduce them, the SPIRALIFT® SL pairs a TASKMASTER® grinder with a screw screen in a single unit that screens, washes, conveys, and dewaters captured material. An optional compaction zone reduces screenings moisture by more than 50 percent, lowering hauling weight and disposal costs while returning washed organics to the treatment process. Baskets are available from 12 to 27 inches in 304 or 316 stainless steel.

For sites where space rules out a conventional screen, the SPIRALIFT® SLV installs vertically in pump station wet wells, deep pits, and shafts. It combines CUTTER CARTRIDGE® grinding with a vertical screw screen and ultrasonic level control, with models handling 0.6 to 3.5 MGD. The SLV is designed with retrofits in mind and has been installed in pits as deep as 35 feet.

Proven Results in the Field

At Graterford Prison, a maximum security facility in Pennsylvania serving 3,600 inmates and processing 650,000 gallons per day, existing bar screens and comminutors were overwhelmed. After Franklin Miller installed SPIRALIFT screening systems built around TASKMASTER® TM1630 shredders with 10 HP drives, pump clogging and emergency maintenance calls stopped, screenings were reduced to confetti-sized particles, and moisture content dropped by more than half. The facility's utility supervisor credited the system with a 98 percent improvement in plant efficiency.

At the Northeast Correctional Facility in Bowling Green, Missouri, paper, jumpsuits, and debris in a 300,000-gallon-per-day flow were costing the facility more than $30,000 a year in pump station equipment replacements. With a 35-foot-deep pit that couldn't accommodate conventional equipment, the facility installed a SPIRALIFT SLV vertically. The clogging ended, and the operator reports the unit has required very little maintenance.

Facilities evaluating their options can contact Franklin Miller with their flow rate, the materials currently being removed, and available installation space, and the company's engineers will recommend a grinder, a screen, or a combined solution. More information is available at franklinmiller.com/applications/correctional-facilities.

About Franklin Miller Inc.

Founded in 1918 and headquartered in Livingston, New Jersey, Franklin Miller Inc. designs and manufactures grinders, screens, shredders, crushers, and mills for municipal and industrial customers worldwide. The company's brands include TASKMASTER®, SPIRALIFT®, DELUMPER®, DIMMINUTOR®, SUPER SHREDDER®, and SCREENMASTER®. All equipment is made in the USA.