Food waste composting system coming to Canadian province next year

A food waste composting system has been approved at a British Columbia, Canada, transfer station. 

During a Cariboo Regional District (CRD) board meeting in December, members approved the purchase of an Earth Flow in-vessel waste composting system manufactured by Green Mountain Technologies, Bainbridge Island, Washington. 

The in-vessel composting process occurs inside a contained unit that will limit access by vectors as well as manage odor, leachate and temperature, reports The Williams Lake Tribune.

“This purchase aligns with the CRD’s proposed new solid waste management plan, which remains under review by the Ministry of Environment and Parks. The funds required for this purchase will be sourced from the Cariboo Regional District’s apportionment of the Community Works Fund,” the district said in a release announcing the equipment purchase. 

CRD Solid Waste Manager Tara Grady tells MyCaribooNow.com that the food waste composter is an automated system with an auger that can be run day or night with the oversight of an operator. 

When operational, residents will have access to an organics drop-off area at the district’s transfer stations around the Williams Lake area. Residents can also subscribe to a private curbside composting collection program. 

Grady says it will be roughly six months before the unit will be delivered, with hopes for it to be operational by the middle of 2025. 

“This unit will not be able to process all of the organics generated in the area. This is a way for us to get started,” she tells MyCaribooNow.com. “The long-term location for composting is yet to be determined but we first have to see if we can actually divert the material from the waste stream if people are willing to participate.”