2022 Organics Management Facility of the Year.
The National Waste & Recycling Association recently named Republic Services’ Otay Compost Facility the 2022 Organics Management Facility of the Year. The Otay facility in Chula Vista, Calif., is the first fully solar-powered compost facility in the state, recycling food and yard waste from throughout the San Diego region.
The solar-powered facility opened for business last October, helping communities in San Diego County meet the requirements of California’s SB1383 law mandating the diversion of organic waste from landfills. This unique facility, designed by SCS Engineers in collaboration with Sustainable Generation, operates completely off the grid. It can process 200 tons of food and yard waste daily from Chula Vista, Carlsbad, and customers throughout the San Diego region.
The design uses renewable energy to run 100 percent of the composting operations at the site. The facility design includes technologies to speed the maturation rates and reduce excessive odors. Blowers to aerate the organic material, oxygen and temperature sensors, and advanced compost cover technology produce a high-quality product.
“Republic Services took the goals of SB 1383 further to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants. They’re running a sustainable facility that enables residents, businesses, and government to easily reuse and recycle more organic materials within a smaller carbon footprint than ever expected,” says Vidhya Viswanathan, engineer and project director.
Additional Resources:
Composting and Organics Management
Renewable Energy for Landfills and Landfill Facilities
Recently, Mike Marks and Eric Peterson of SCS Engineers attended a ceremony at a closed BFI site, the South Brunswick Landfill. The landfill features solar panels to create renewable energy as part of normal operations. The renewable energy resource will run side by side with the leachate collection, cap maintenance, and landfill gas monitoring operations.
With the solar project nearly complete at the site the Governor of New Jersey decided it would be the perfect place to sign a major piece of green energy legislation. We agree!
Governor Murphy signed the Renewable Energy bill, which helps improve and expand New Jersey’s renewable energy programs; signed legislation establishing a Zero Emissions Certificate (ZEC) program to maintain New Jersey’s nuclear energy supply; and signed an executive order directing the development of an updated Energy Master Plan (EMP) for the state to achieve 100 percent clean energy by 2050.
In attendance were state politicians, union representatives, Republic Services’ Randy Deardorff, and a host of journalists. Thank you Governor, RSI, and our SCS colleagues in New Jersey.
Praise for New Jersey’s Clean Energy Economy advancements.
