Jul 25, 2014

From the Province Posted by Peak Disposal If you’ve ever wondered what happens to the food scraps you toss into your green bin, the place to go looking for answers is at the end of a nondescript road just off Westminster Highway in Richmond. That’s where you’ll find Joe Canning, general manager of Harvest Power, who will gladly walk you through the complicated, and entirely engrossing, process that turns yesterday’s leftovers into the building blocks for tomorrow’s food. Since the final phase of the City of Vancouver’s green bin program was launched in 2013, city households have reduced the amount of garbage being sent to the landfill by an estimated 40 per cent, the equivalent of about 24,500 tonnes per year. A big share of that waste reduction has ended up at Harvest Power, one of two companies where Vancouver’s organic refuse is taken and turned into quality product, such as top grade soil and turf, for market. Harvest is also the place where green matter, via another complicated and equally engrossing process, is turned into electricity. “It’s continuing cycles, but it takes us 30 days to do what it takes backyard composters years to do,” Canning said last week. “We know we’re doing good. It is something we’re all proud of.” It’s an interesting look at the other end of a process that has not been without some controversy. When first introduced, the city’s green bin program was met with anecdotal tales of rodent infestations and reports of enraged citizens who were put out by the change in their garbage schedule. (Garbage is now picked up bi-weekly, green bins every week). Little attention was given to the end game of the exercise, which is part of Metro Vancouver’s larger Zero Waste Challenge — a green initiative that aims to divert 70 per cent of the region’s green waste away from landfills by 2015. The city says the program is now available to an estimated 100,000 single-family houses and about 1,800 multi-unit residential buildings. At the same time, the city says the number of complaints about the program has tapered off. This year, there have been only 12 complaints, while there have been 14 calls from residents complimenting the program and looking to sign up. After first being picked up, green bin material is taken to the city’s south transfer station. From there, it is loaded into transfer trailers and taken to Harvest Power or Enviro Smart Organics in Delta. After being off-loaded, the green material is put through the “Cranbow,” a large machine, which shreds and breaks-down the material. The matter is then piled onto a CASP (covered aerated static pile), which is where the composting process begins, Canning explains. At another part of the facility, the organic matter, via anaerobic digestion, is broken down to produce biogas, which fuels an on-site generator that produces electricity which Harvest Power sells to B.C. Hydro. Any leftover material is returned to the composting process. Canning says pipes running through the CASPs draw air through the piles, helping to break down the organic matter, while also reducing the odour. The material will “cook” there for about 15 days and technicians will test it to ensure it is free of pathogens. The material is then moved to the curing station, where it will cook for another 15 before being taken to the screener. The end result is three grades of high-quality soil for market. “It’s full of nutrients,” says Canning, before summing up the entire process neatly. “People bring us their food scraps, we turn it into soil and the soil is used to grow food.”

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