Greg McCarron

January 11, 2016

Organic materials management is of high interest in our industry.  This interest is being driven by state and city regulations and other government policies for diversion of organics from disposal facilities.  Five states have food waste disposal bans, including Massachusetts, California, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island, which are in various stages of implementation.  Some cities have food waste disposal bans, including San Francisco, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), and Austin.  Many states and government agencies have organic diversion policies and goals; e.g., USEPA has a 50 percent reduction goal for food waste sent to landfills, nationwide, by 2030.

SCS is helping public and private entities evaluate their organic waste streams and the applicability of established and emerging technologies (e.g., composting, anaerobic digestion) to their specific communities and circumstances.  Current and recent project examples include the following:

• Compost facility design, permitting, and operations at for five compost facilities in the Northeast, located in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey. For the Sam White and Sons, Inc. compost facility located in Middleboro, Massachusetts, operations services include provision and use of a truck-mounted mixer to mix food and leaves, and a Komptech X-60 compost turner to turn the windrows. Sam White sells the finished product through its network of purchasers.  SCS has had “boots on the ground” at this facility since 2013, gaining real-world experience with open-windrow composting of various organic materials.
• Organics recycling plan for Eastern Placer County, California. SCS is currently assisting the County develop an organics recycling plan, which includes evaluating technologies (e.g., in-vessel composting, aerated static pile (ASP) composting, anaerobic digestion) and recommending an approach to fit their specific needs and circumstances.
• Characterization of diverted waste materials for composting at the University of Maryland (UM).  This was a one-week residential pilot project at Easton Hall on campus. SCS hand-sorted the materials and compiled the data and results into a letter report.
• Evaluation of organic waste processing facilities for the Town of Smithtown, New York. SCS is researching and evaluating the impacts of organic waste processing facilities (OWPFs), and identifying the Best Management Practices (BMPs) for operating and regulating indoor OWPFs. SCS’s work will support the Town’s efforts to develop and implement ordinance amendment(s) that would permit and regulate such facilities in the Town.

SCS is actively pursuing work in the organics materials management sector and has a staff devoted to staying current with the latest trends and technologies.  SCS can evaluate, design, permit, construct and operate organics facilities, using varying technologies.  Compost technologies that SCS is considering for implementation include:

• Open, turned windrows
• Aerated static piles with covers
• In-vessel systems

Anaerobic digestion (AD) technologies that SCS is considering for implementation include high solids (dry) or low solids (wet) systems.  High solids/dry systems are applicable for food and yard waste.  Dry systems for food and yard waste generally use tunnels, which are gas-tight, concrete, garage-like chambers and are loaded using front-end loaders.  Low solids/wet systems are applicable for manure, sludges, and liquid industrial waste.  Wet systems generally use vessels, which are mixed and are fed using pumps.

Learn more about these SCS services.

About Greg McCarron