Dishing the Dirt on Compost Week 2018

Did you know that composting at home is a great way to reduce waste and improve lawns, gardens, and flowerbeds? Nutrient-rich compost builds soil and promotes healthy plant growth.

International Compost Awareness Week, May 6 to 12, is the perfect time to wake up your compost after a long winter or to start composting for the first time. The City offers the following to help residents learn about home composting:

• Learn the basics in one of our two-hour workshops, just $10 for the whole family, at Compost 'S cool, located near John Janzen Nature Centre. To register for workshops, visit edmonton.ca/eReg or call 311.
• Join us live on the City Facebook page Thursday, May 10 at 12:30 p.m. as we ask our resident compost expert about tips and tricks for starting and maintaining a healthy compost. Viewers are encouraged to ask questions in real time.
• Meet staff and volunteers for a Compost Coffee Break on Saturday, May 12, at Mandolin Books & Coffee Co. (6419 112 Avenue). Chat about home composting, ask questions, relax and enjoy a discounted coffee.
• Ask the Compost Doctor! Call 780-496-5526 or email compost@edmonton.ca with your basic or advanced compost questions.
• Follow @CompostScool on Facebook for pointers, tips, and news about special events. You can also subscribe to Keep Composting, a e-newsletter for composting tips and answers to frequently asked questions.

Visit edmonton.ca/compost for more information.

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Four Key Ingredients for Composting by MCR Mildred T.

Greens

These materials are moist, have lots of nitrogen, and less carbon.

• kitchen scraps
• fresh plant material
• peelings
• anything fresh from a plant

Browns
These materials are dry and rich in carbon.

• fall leaves
• dried grass
• saw dust
• straw
• shredded paper

Water

Some water is required for food to break down.

• Sometimes I take the lid off my compost bin before it rains.
• I add any unused water, when I change my pet's water dish.
• Whenever I cook pasta, rinse rice or beans, or wash vegetables, I save that water and add it to my compost.
  (Note: I stopped adding salt to my pasta water, to keep it out of my compost.)

Air

Without oxygen, compost breaks down anaerobically. It smells bad and composts slowly. So mix your greens and browns, add water, and then poke some holes in the compost pile. Use something like a long handled weeder or an old broom handle.

This brings air and oxygen into the pile and helps it break down to become a soil amendment.

• Fluff once a week, from spring to fall.

For More Info & Help
Visit edmonton.ca/compost
Call 780-495-5526
Email compost@edmonton.ca
Go to Compost 'S cool

MCR Mildred T.
Mildred T. became a Master Composter Recycler in 1991. She was part of the first training group of the MCR Program. She was advocate for waste reduction before and ever since. Her motto has been "think globally, act locally."

Edmonton’s Anaerobic Digestion Facility by MCR Tim M.

It Will Take Your Breath Away

A collaboration between the City of Edmonton and the University of Alberta, the Anaerobic Digestion Facility (ADF) will process up to 48,000 tonnes of organic waste when in operation, producing electricity, heat and compost. In anaerobic digestion, material is broken down in the absence of oxygen. This results in the production of biogas (largely methane), which can be used to power electrical generators. Although more common in Europe, this type of facility is only the second if its kind in Canada (the other one is in Richmond, B.C.).

When operating, organic material is placed into one of eight long, 5m x 35m cells and inoculated with water that contains the necessary microbes for the digestion process. Over 28 days, the material breaks down and produces biogas, which is then sent to two 800 kW generators.

A view from inside one of the cells. It takes about eight hours to fill a single cell with organic waste.

The generators produce heat and electricity. The heat, about 90⁰C, will be used to dry the garbage fluff in the Integrated Processing and Transfer Facility(IPTF), which is then used as feedstock for Enerkem’s Waste-to-BiofuelsFacility. After losing some of its heat to the drying process, the air returns to the ADF at around 60⁰C -- the temperature ideal for anaerobic digestion -- and helps to heat the digestor cells.

Once the anaerobic digestion process is complete, the remaining material is moved into an aeration bay and mixed with carbon-rich green wood and further composted in an oxygen-rich environment over a period of 10 to 12 days.

Set to open in 2018, the Anaerobic Digester was built primarily to compost unmixed, organic material such as household food and yard waste. The electricity will be used to power the Edmonton Composting Facility (ECF). Waste Services will consider how to use this electricity when the ECF is not operating, depending on need.

Learn about the Edmonton Waste Management Centre.
Visit edmonton.ca/ewmc
Visit EWMC Interactive Site Map

Tim is an employee with Waste Services who completed the MCR Training in 2017. As a member of the Education Team, he leads tours of the Edmonton Waste Management Cenre and involves Grade Four students in managing their own waste.

Looking Ahead to 2017!

2016 was a great year for our team at the City. The dedication and enthusiasm of MCRs played an important role in this success. We're excited for things to come in 2017!

• Public consultation for the Waste Strategic Plan will take place in the spring.
• This will include possible automated collection and/or separate collection of compostables.
• Construction continues on the Anaerobic Digestion Facility (completion by end of year).
• The Waste-to-Biofuels Facility continues commissioning.
• Edmonton has teamed up with the National Zero Waste Council. We will research and begin developing programming about reducing residential food waste.

For the MCR Program in 2017

• Introducing a Waste Video of the Week, every Wednesday
• New volunteer roles at Compost ‘S cool
• Sharing the online version of MCR Training with all existing MCRs
• Hosting “Refresher Training sessions” every three months.
• Receiving new toys at Compost ‘S cool

Edmonton’s waste services has many impressive employees. From engineers at the EWMC, operators at the plants, collectors on trucks, attendants at Eco Stations, presenters in schools, to canvassers at doorsteps. The men and women who keep the system running are smart, passionate, and innovative folks.

But Sarah and Rodney are lucky because we get to see the amazing things that volunteers do for Edmonton’s waste system. MCRs are universally smart, passionate, and innovative.

From Rodney

I am still learning to be a dad, but I deeply appreciate that “it takes a village to raise a child.” One of the many gifts that my son and daughter have already received in life is the gift of community and volunteerism here in Edmonton.

I am ever grateful to MCRs (people like you) for what you do to reduce waste and help Edmonton’s waste system. You give your skills, your time, your passion, and your creativity by speaking up and by telling friends and family that waste matters.

At a personal level, I am sincerely grateful to MCRs (and you) for making Edmonton a better place for my children, and for future generations. Thank you.
“A some point, everything will be discarded, and yet none of it is garbage.”

From Sarah

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again -- I really do consider myself lucky to work with such an amazing, passionate group of volunteers. Master Composter Recyclers are giving, thoughtful Edmontonians who truly want a better, greener future for our city and our planet.

Part of my job is to teach MCRs about Edmonton’s waste system, but I have learned so much from my fellow MCRs. This community has been invaluable in helping me to shift my behaviours, thoughts, and actions to sustainable alternatives. We challenge and inspire each other to be better every day.

Thank you for a great year, and here’s to less waste in 2017!

Edmonton receives funding for organic waste processing facility

A provincial agency that directs funding grants toward projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions is providing 10 million dollars to the City of Edmonton for the construction of an organic waste processing facility.

The City of Edmonton is one of eight recipients of funding for renewable energy projects announced today by the Climate Change and Emissions Management (CCEMC) Corporation.

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