PENTICTON – The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has recently recognized the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) for environmental leadership. A feasibility study conducted to determine how to manage compost in the RDOS has been included in a compendium of 20 exceptional projects in the last 20 years funded by FCM. The FCM has supported over 1360 sustainability projects.
About 40 per cent of materials going into RDOS landfills, including food waste, could potentially be composted. A comprehensive feasibility study conducted by the RDOS considered the social, economic and environmental factors of composting. Different compost technologies were considered and costed out.
Innovative odour modelling was developed to compare the risks of placing facilities in various locations. Transportation costs, means of collection, sale of compost and greenhouse gas emissions were also estimated.
The feasibility study showed that one large-scale compost site, located near Penticton, would be a viable solution for the Region to deal with commercial food waste, wastewater sludge and urban food waste. Having one large site allowed for the best odour control while lowering overall costs.
The feasibility study also showed that smaller compost sites made sense in rural areas for residential food waste and agricultural organics. The odour from these rural sites was found to be manageable if kept small enough. The FCM provided $175,000 in grant funding through the Green Municipal Fund towards the feasibility study project.
Karla Kozakevich, RDOS Chair, was one of the elected officials that oversaw the development of the feasibility study. “It is an honour to be recognized as having conducted one of the most outstanding environmental leadership projects in Canada,” states Kozakevich. “Siting a compost site has the potential to be controversial. Doing it right from the beginning is incredibly important. Our feasibility study helped inform elected officials and the public of the benefits of moving forward and ways to mitigate potential concerns.”