Seeing the Big Picture and Creating Success

Rodney J Fry, P.Eng.

www.rjfry.com

By PresenterMedia.com

Understanding your Sector

Compost Feedstocks

Industry Support

Your Compost Markets

Future Developments

Presentation Topics

Understanding Your Sector Where do you belong?

GREENBIN - Municipal Curbside Collected Organics - Single-Stream, Wet/Dry, Source-Separated (SSO) and Leaf and Yard (L&YO) P3’s or Tendering with municipal governments to Design, Build, and/or Operate facilities

HUMAN WASTE - Wastewater Treatment (wwtp) Biosolid, Lagoon Dewatered and Septage Dewatered Solids from sewage Accessing sewage-derived wastes through municipal commissions, public and private tenders,

PLANT WASTE– Forestry, wood and bark wastes, straw, hay and other silage or crop residuals Focus is on manufacturing low-nutrient growing media substitutes for peat-moss and mulch alternatives

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION – Processing feedstock for biogas, ethanol, or other steam/energy production A new group of operations competing for feedstock and also creating digestate feedstock

WORM CASTINGS, POULTRY PELLETS & OTHER ORGANIC FERTILIZERS A group that lies just outside the definition of aerobic composting

GREEN BIN

ANIMAL, FISH AND AGRI-FOOD WASTE – Livestock manures from all large-scale sources, as well as from fish and AGRI-Food processing wastes Focus is on manufacturing premium compost soil amendments rich in nutrients

HUMAN

ANIMAL

PLANT

AD

FERTILIZER

GREEN-BIN COMPOST

- Survey Says – > 80% of consumers initial reaction to the thought of compost made from curb-side organics is positive! - But!! - Green-Bin feedstocks can be quite seasonally variable and contain excessive foreign materials - Compost maturity can take longer than expected due to difficulties with maintaining ideal recipe and pile conditions - Access to premium priced compost markets limited by presence of plastics contaminants in final product causing consumer complaints

- Survey Says – 99% of consumers initial reaction to the thought of compost made from sewage wastes is negative! - But!!! , - WWTP biosolid feedstock is rich in nutrients, quality and quantities are consistent and it’s clean of any foreign-materials - compost process to full maturity can be fairly quick and consistent - Access to premium - priced markets is limited - due to the negative - stigma placed on the - final products - Restricted from - “Organic Approved” - markets

HUMAN WASTE COMPOST

Comparing GREEN-BIN VS HUMAN WASTE There’s a case for keeping them separated as well as combining the two

MANURE COMPOST

-An attempt to make a compost soil amendment (fertilizer supplement) with the maximum amount of soil nutrients in final product! -But!! -You require a compost recipe with a balanced amount of carbon amendments, so you will need Plant Waste materials -The “Fertilizer” industry will identify you as a direct competitor for their market share -You must contend with perceived potential for various animal diseases, virus, or pathogens -CFIA require you to provide labelling information

regarding “Guaranteed Nutrients” -Opportunity to attain “Approved Input for Organic” for both

- An attempt to make a compost growing media (peat) substitute with the most beneficial microbial boost to support plant roots! - But!!! , - You require a compost recipe with a balanced amount of nitrogen amendments, so you will need some Animal Waste materials - The “Peat” industry will identify you as a direct competitor for their market share - Some may refer to your - product quality as mulch - You will need to obtain - access to peat materials - to amend your horticulture - products for consumers

BARK COMPOST

Comparing ANIMAL VS PLANT WASTE You can’t do one without the other?

Compost Feedstocks - CARBONS The more difficult a feedstock is to handle is directly proportional to the potential Tip-Fee amount

Wood Wastes from Sawmills, Forest Product Mills 1) wood-yard scrapings, 2) sawdust, 3) chips, 4) fines, 5) kiln-dried shavings 6) tops & ends, 7) stumps, or logs 8) knots, 9) cedar slab waste 10) shingle hair waste 11) wood-ash from biomass boiler 12) waste manufactured board or wood products, 13) mining of current or historical industrial-owned wood-

waste landfills

Bark Wastes from Sawmills, Forest Products Mills 1) wood-yard scrapings 2) bark from wet/dry debarkers, 3) hot-ponds bark waste, 4) Hog-fuel or chipper waste 5) green biomass waste from woodlands operations, 6) mining of current or historical industrial-owned bark waste

landfills

Pulp and Paper Mill Residues 1) biosolid from settling ponds and lagoons 2) primary clarifier biosolid 3) secondary wwtp biosolid 4) anaerobic digestate biosolid 5) waste paper carbon fibre, 6) waste clay-fibre, 7) pin-chips, 8) chip fines, 9) screening rejects and knots 10) wood-ash, fly-ash and bottom-ash 11) precipitated lime, 12) grits and dregs 13) bio-sulphur slurry 14) mining of current or historical industrial-owned landfills

Biomass and Co-Generation Power Plant wastes 1) fly-ash, 2) bottom ash, 3) precipitated lime 4) waste biomass (wet or containing debris)

Compost Feedstocks - NUTRIENTS The more difficult a feedstock is to handle is directly proportional to the potential Tip-Fee amount

Livestock and Feedlot Residues 1) manures and bedding 2) poultry layer manure 3) poultry broiler manure bedding 4) beef manure, 5) horse manures 6) swine manure 7) sheep manure 8) swine lagoon DAF solids 9) Race track manure 10) zoo or park animals manure and bedding

Livestock Processing, Slaughterhouse and Rendering Residues 1) dead or diseased cull animals 2) SRM diseased materials 3) slaughterhouse wastes 4) paunch manure, 5) feathers, 6) hides, skins 7) blood-water 8) carcasses from fur-bearing animals mink, fox, or seal 9) other animal processing wastes 10) bone-meals, 11) blood meals 12) feather-meals 13) waste from animal feed production plants, 14) wastes from rendering plants

Salmon and Fin-Fish Aquaculture and Fish Processing Residues 1) fish processing residues, 2) DAF solids from fish processing plant 3) mortalities, 4) viscera, 5) heads and racks, 6) blood-water 7) net-cleaning wastes 8) fish feces, 9) aquaculture cage bottom cleaning wastes, 10) waste from seaweed or kelp harvesting/processing operations, 11) algae bloom wastes, 12) shoreline clean-up wastes, 13) off-shore fishery wastes from boats, 14) fishing ship bilge clean-out wastes Shellfish Aquaculture and Shellfish Processing Residues 1) lobster & shells, 2) clam & shells, 3) mussel and shells, 4) shrimp and shells 5) oyster and shells, 6) cooked shellfish processing waste

Agriculture Farm Crop Residues 1) waste crop residues, 2) waste cull potatoes, 3) waste straw 4) waste hay

Agriculture Food Processing Residues 1) potato skins and peels, 2) lagoon biosolids 3) digester cake 4) blueberry screenings 5) cranberry screenings 6) spent mushroom wastes, 7) pharmaceutical/

nutraceutical wastes 8) dredge material from lagoon

of food processing plants

Compost Feedstocks – Municipal & ICI The more difficult a feedstock is to handle is directly proportional to the potential Tip-Fee amount

Residential and Commercial Source-Separated Organic Residues 1) Leaf and Yard organics (L&YO), 2) Kitchen food and organics (SSO) including, 3) Food scraps, 4) Wet and soiled paper, 5) Diapers and sanitary products, 6) Pet waste, 7) Dry paper packaging, 8) Municipal MRF organics 9) Waste paper and cardboard recycling wastes 10) Waste compostable packaging materials 11) Any organics or green waste provided separate collection by waste

haulers

Institutional and Commercial Organic Residues 1) Restaurant organics, 2) grocery organics, 3) Landscape, arborists, and horticulture greenhouse wastes, 4) Silviculture wastes, 5) Brewery processing wastes, 6) Bakery processing wastes, 7) Waste from juice processing plants, 8) Coffee grinds, 9) Waste cooking oils and greases, 10) Organics and compostable wastes collected from community fairs,

conventions or special events, 11) Hotels, apartments complex, condominium organic waste, 12) Prisons, universities, hospitals, military bases and other institutional

organics waste 13) Any organics or green waste provided separate collection by waste

haulers

Organic Materials Landscape, Horticulture Sector Wastes 1) Peat-land mining development and other peat moss

processing/packaging wastes, 2) Greenhouse waste - plants and soils 3) Waste perlite dust 4) Landscape wastes, grass clippings, 5) Tree, brush clearing and leaves wastes 6) waste fertilizers,

Wood Wastes from Post Consumer Sources 1) residential construction and demolition wood wastes, 2) coated, pressure-treated, painted 3) waste pallets 4) resin plywood wastes 5) creosoted railway ties, 6) recycled wood-wastes from MRF recycle stream 7) wood-ashes from commercial biomass or wood-pellet boilers

Compost Feedstocks – Municipal & ICI The more difficult a feedstock is to handle is directly proportional to the potential Tip-Fee amount

Construction, Demolition and Clearing Wastes 1) clearing/grubbing wastes, 2) waste topsoil or sand from construction site

development 3) urban impacted brownfield excavated soils 4) contaminated excavated soils 5) commercial construction & demolition wood wastes 6) LEEDS demolition projects waste materials 7) waste gypsum wallboard wastes 8) highway, Power-line, pipeline ROW clearing wastes

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Biosolid 1) lime stabilized sewage biosolid, 2) sewage lagoon dredging wastes 3) dried or dewatered sewage biosolid 4) septage tank wastes and dewatered septage biosolid, 5) anaerobic digestate from sewage wwtp, 6) sewage biosolid from drying beds

Coal-Fired Power Plant Wastes 1) coal-ash 2) synthetic gypsum

Bio-Energy or Biogas Wastes 1) anaerobic digestate waste 2) bio-ethanol crop residues

Industrial Process Residues 1) clay filter fines from air process filters 2) waste bio-filter materials, 3) filter media from wastewater processes, 4) waste sediments from erosion control and manhole structures

clean-out

Other Inorganics, Drill Mud or Waste Residues

1) drilling mud from exploration projects 2) dredge spoils from harbour dredging projects 3) storage tank cleaning sediments 4) sulphide bearing rock or soil 5) metal impacted soils or sands 6) highway construction grubbing and clearing materials

• Compost Council of Canada

(CCC) is your national industry

association

• CCC provides the Compost

Product Testing and Marketing

program – Compost Quality

Alliance (CQA)

• CCC also provides Compost

Facility Operator Training

course for staff

• Compost Facilities are

permitted through provincial

Environment Dept.

• Many provinces have specific

support programs for organics

recycling (ex. NS RRFB)

• Provincial bodies that

administer important compost

market sectors like DOT, Parks,

Agriculture etc.

• Locally you can connect with

Garden Clubs, community

groups, universities and

other municipal programs.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT Get connected, continue learning and take advantage of Support

Operator Training l National Conference

Regional Workshops l www.compost.org

The National Players

• CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)

• Standards Council of Canada (SCC) Bureau de Normalisation du

Québec (BNQ) • Canadian Council of Ministries of

Environment (CCME) + Compost Quality Alliance (CQA)

CQA Compost Markets Development Pyramid

May, 2014

Organic Bio-Fertilizers, Disease Suppressants (Pelletized)

Spreadable Top-Dressing, Golf/Turf Maintenance Products (Formed

Particles and Pelletized)

Professional Greenhouse and Nursery Horticulture Growing Medias & Peat

Substitutes (Dried or Dehydrated)

Construction Sediment and Erosion Control (S&EC) Products (examples are Compost Blower Media, Dried

Hydro-Mulch Fibre and Filtrexx Medias

Landscaping Growing Medias and Mulches (including bulk and bagged compost products) for commercial and

residential customers

Compost Soil Amendments in Bulk to Agriculture, Land Reclamation and other Soil Improvement Applications

Compost Supply to Topsoil Blenders for production of various Manufactured Topsoil Bulk Products (examples are Lawn Topsoil, Wetland

Soil, Turf and Sports-field Soil, or Garden Soil Mixes)

$100 - $300/T

$50 - $100/T

$30 - $50/cu.yd

$10 - $30/cu.yd

$5 - $15/cu.yd

$5-$10/T

$3-$5/cu.yd

Compost Supply to Topsoil Blenders

May, 2014

1

4

• General rule-of-thumb for blending compost to manufacture topsoil is to use a 50:50 compost to loamy sand recipe (by volume),

• Compost manufactured topsoil can replace “traditional topsoil sources from floodplain or farmland stripping of native topsoil” as not only the more environment-friendly alternative, but also the better quality choice,

• Producing a screened compost topsoil with 5-10% organic matter and ideal drainage and compaction characteristics will command attention of the consumer markets

“CQA analyses provides additional organic matter content & grain-size distribution results used for developing topsoil blending recipes”

Compost Supply to Topsoil Blenders

May, 2014

1

5

Benefits to Municipalities

• Water Conservation (reduced watering required)

• Minimize harmful topsoil mining practices (floodplains and farmland stripping)

• Enhanced Wellfield, Aquifer and Surface Water Protection (erosion protection and pesticide absorption)

• Cost Savings (less costly sports field and parks maintenance)

• General Rule of thumb for estimating total volume of markets for soil products is 1 cu.yd per capita per year!

Compost Soil Amendments in Bulk to Agriculture

May, 2014

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6

CQA Compost Markets Development Pyramid

• Nutrient Value of compost;

• compost applications can supplement chemical fertilizers and provide a safer alternative to traditional manures,

• Organic Matter of compost;

• compost applications sustain or enrich soil organic matter levels,

• Overall Soil Health

• Compost naturally enhances biological soil parameters to enhance disease resistance

The potential annual volumes of compost required to supply annual 20tonne/hectare applications needed to sustain organic matter fertility of agriculture farmlands are very large!

• Benefits of Compost to Agriculture, Land Application, Mine Reclamation

“CQA analyses provides additional information about a compost’s nutrient contents (total and plant available levels) used in determining crop-specific application rates”

Compost Soil Amendments in Bulk to Agriculture

May, 2014

1

7

CQA Compost Markets Development Pyramid

• Cost of compost supply, delivery and spreading can be managed below $20/tonne;

• With crop-yield increases achievable from annual compost application rates of 5 to 10 tonnes/acre, there are direct cost savings in chemical fertilizer replacement

• Farms that utilize compost see gradual increased in overall soil fertility & health benefits over time;

• Improved soil health could reduce pesticide requirements and improve compaction, erosion or irrigation field maintenance costs,

?? -Potential for future Greenhouse Gas Credits

• Economics of Compost to Agriculture,

Compost as Landscape Growing Media and Mulch (Bagged and Bulk)

• Access to a wider market for retail consumers of landscape products can be gained through packaged products (via improved shipping & storage logistics),

• Important to note that price received for compost supply to bagged versus bulk markets is not significant, however sale volumes can be increased,

• Compost-amended “dark bark mulch” is growing in popularity as it breaks down to amend the soil bed,

• Use demonstration projects in partnership with local garden clubs, landscape associations etc. to get the message out.

• Compost-based growing media have replaced traditional peat-based mixes as the choice of outdoors landscapers

“CQA analyses provides foreign-matter counts and compost maturity information that is critical information for determining suitability for bagging product”

Compost in Construction Sediment & Erosion Control Projects

• S&EC best management practices and “equivalent to DOT Specifications” are important driver of these markets,

• Good examples are in Highway Construction side-slope projects where alternatives to traditional silt-fence is utilized,

• Also with new compost vegetative covers requirements for Sediment Ponds for Subdivision construction,

• R&D developments for compost-based hydro-mulch fibre products is ongoing,

• Suppliers of Compost Blower Trucks and Filtrexx Sock materials are the leaders for this compost market sector,

“CQA analyses verifies moisture contents, particle-size distribution (for meshing) results used for developing compost and hydro-mulch fibre recipes”

Compost as a Peat –Substitute in Professional Horticulture (Nursery and Greenhouse)

May, 2014

Professional horticulture mixes are heavily reliant on sphagnum peat and aged southern pine barks as the basic components of greenhouse/nursery media,

• R&D has identified compost can be dried to similar densities of peat and utilized at up to 40% content successfully within professional mixes,

• Compost adds to microbial, micronutrients, drainage, and cation exchange capacity,

• Reduced need for methyl-bromide fungicide sprays has been suggested due to improved microbial from compost additions,

“CQA analyses provides additional pH, EC and cation exchange capacity (CEC) results used in developing professional growing mix recipes”

Compost use in Spreadable Topdressing and other Golf/Turf Maintenance Products

• Turf management professionals are purchasing spreadable topdressing as part of improved lawn care standards,

• New national “Healthy Lawn Care Strategies” programs are promoting reduced applications of chemical fertilizers and pesticides,

• Mow at higher level, less often, and allow cuttings to mulch into grass,

• Core-aerate regularly followed by compost topdressing,

• Fertilize with organic-based products,

• Access to this compost market sector would typically require investments in drying and granulating compost products,

Compost Processed into Organic Bio-Fertilizers

• To access the organic bio-fertilizer markets, significant investments into dehydrating and pelletizing compost-enriched sources of nutrients are required,

• Consumer trends towards organically produced food is rapidly expanding across North America, • As a result more demand for

“Approved Inputs” for organic crop production are expected,

• Compost product recipes must be audited by “Organic Certifying Agencies” to ensure compliance with Canadian, USDA-NOP or OMRI Listed standards,

• Growth of Biomass industry competing for carbon amendment

Expanding Biomass Projects

• Competition for nutrient-rich feedstocks is occurring,

• Potential issues arising from non-pasteurized digestate direct land applied

Anaerobic Digestion

•Continued lack of a pro-active policies towards protecting natural farmland, floodplains and wetland habitats from topsoil harvesting

•Excessive prescriptive regulatory conditions onto compost industry

Environmental Regulations

•The compost facility operations of the future cannot afford to create off-site odor nuisance complaints

•Finished mature compost must also be of consistently high quality for pathogens, odors, salinity and agronomic performance

Facility Odors & Compost Quality

Future Developments – Risks and Unknowns? What are potentially “negative future developments” that we need to be wary of?

• Implementing GHG offsetting projects with compost

• Reduction in organics going to Landfills

• Third potential revenue stream to compost facilities from sale of carbon offsets

Climate Change

• Potential to open up the largest volume market demand for compost in agriculture

• Supply and demand economics are turned around potentially leading to increased sale price for compost

Compost use in Agriculture

•Organic food production relies on managing soil quality through use of organic soil amendments

•Organic lawn care involves less use of chemicals and pesticides

Trend towards “Organic”

•Better engineered facilities, less failures, trained compost facility operators, consistent quality of compost products in marketplace

•Consumer confidence in organics recycling and the benefits of the end-product compost

Maturation of the Industry Nation-Wide

Future Developments – Positive Trends?

What are potentially “positive future trends” that we can be optimistic about?

Rodney J Fry, P.Eng. – RJ Fry Assoc. Ltd. 1 Southview Lane, Suite 404, Fredericton, NB, E3A 5V3 Email: rjfryassoc@gmail.com, web: www.rjfry.com

QUESTIONS ??