"The Cycle is Complete"
Brief Description of the Program
The City’s goal is divert grass clippings and yard waste from the landfill, produce a useable product (compost) and market it back to the general public, thus providing a savings to the environment, the City, the residents and to the regional landfill centre.
Time Frames Involved: 1992 - 1996
The Compost Program began in 1992 and has taken four years to achieve a measurable success.
Process of Developing the Program
At the beginning of 1992, City officials and staff realized there was an environmental challenge ahead of them regarding solid waste going to landfill. Costs to dispose of waste were escalating, while landfill space in our region was quickly disappearing. The City set a course of action to change the attitudes of the residents of Fort Saskatchewan regarding the type of waste they were sending to landfill.
Although the City of Fort Saskatchewan has had many successes in recycling, the most innovative challenge was to "Stop" grass clippings and yard waste from going to landfill.
Thus our Compost Program began, to divert grass clippings and yard waste from landfill to produce a useable product (compost) and to market it back to the general public.
The year 1992 saw many changes in the way Fort Saskatchewan would deal with residential attitudes about solid waste. With diminishing landfill space, the cost of disposing of waste to landfill began to skyrocket. Firm measures had to be put in place to get the public's attention. A user fee was implemented and residents were not pleased!
The City then began a process to re-educate the public. A 24 hour a day Recycling Station was opened. It initially accepted newspaper, glass, white goods, cardboard and some mixed plastics. Gradually the City began to see changes in the way residents were disposing of their solid waste.
Statistics indicated that residents were recycling more, but it was evident in the spikes in the charts that late Spring, Summer and early Fall were still hitting all time highs for waste going to landfill. Even with home composting going on there were still tonnes of grass clippings and yard waste being put curb side for pick up. City staff decided they MUST get people to STOP sending these items to landfill.
Process of Implementation
In 1993, an area was opened in the Recycling Station for residents to bring their grass clippings and yard waste to be turned into compost. The City's Public Works Department continued to lead the way among municipalities in Alberta in the volume and effectiveness of composting. A scientific method known as STATIC PILE COMPOSTING was now being used.
The first couple of years saw the compost pile grow, but staff knew they could still do more. Once again City staff went back to the drawing board. This time they teamed up with the Fort Saskatchewan Environmental Advisory Commission and the "Grass Clippings are Not Garbage" campaign began. Banners were hung on light posts in the City, pamphlets were distributed to all of the homes in the City spreading the news why they should bring their yard waste to the Recycling Station and encouraging landscaping companies to use the facility. The campaign caught the media's eye and the City was able to get even more information out to the public.
This combination had a snowball effect, and people responded. Grass clippings and yard waste were being delivered to the Recycling Station and waste statistics were now showing amazing results.
City staff became more experimental, in addition to the grass clippings, other plant material from City operations were brought into the composting operation. Chipped branches (that were also collected at the Recycling Station) were added to the compost. Because this worked so well, now a large portion of the branches brought into the Recycling Station are chipped and added to the compost pile.
The material is stockpiled in the City's Maintenance Yard, with the addition of black soil. The compost and soil mixture is managed by City staff with the help of large and modern equipment including a D-8 caterpillar. During the Summer months the stockpile is turned with a loader and has a maintained temperature of 68 degrees Celsius. During the Winter months, the pile freezes to a depth of one foot and maintains a temperature of 32 degrees Celsius inside the pile.
After two years of "cooking" and having staff turn the piles, the City contracted an Edmonton based firm to screen the pile and produce a finer grained product.
Test results demonstrated that the compost being produced at the City's site is a valuable, re-usable and marketable product. In 1995, the first generation product was put up for sale and residents began to purchase the product for use in their yards. The prospects looked good for developing this market and staff began an intense marketing strategy.
Results Achieved
Compost product is now being sold to the general public, to contractors, and the City ensures this product is used in their Parks and Capital Programs. The sales in 1996 alone were over $19,000. The sale of compost will generate over $50,000 once all the compost material has been sold.
In 1995, the City of Fort Saskatchewan diverted an estimated 1,000 tonnes of waste from landfill and in 1996, over 2,000 tonnes.
The cost for disposing of waste to landfill is $25.00 per tonne, which equates to a savings of $75,000 to the City of Fort Saskatchewan and their residents over the last two years.
The combination of the waste being diverted from landfill and the sales of the product showed outstanding savings to the environment and to the City. These savings contributed to the City being able to provide the residents with a reduction in their solid waste user fees by 15%.
When you combine the revenue from the sale of compost and the landfill savings, the program will save the City between $70,000 and $90,000 per year as increased participation continues.
The cycle of recycling has now been completed. From grass clippings and yard waste and branches being delivered to the Recycling Station, to producing a compost product (two years), to having a valuable product for sale and used within the City of Fort Saskatchewan.
Residents are now able to pick up compost for use in flowerbeds. Thus, the cycle is Complete.