It’s been almost a year since 28,000 households in the City of Peterborough started separating organic waste from garbage, and in so doing have collectively diverted more than 6,000 tonnes of methane-producing organics from the city-county landfill.
The first day city public works crews took to the streets was October 31, 2023. In a new fleet of split-body side-loading trucks, equipped with the helping-hand automated lift arm, the trucks set out to do one thing — well, actually two things: collect household organics and garbage in two separate compartments.
From the curb, these trucks head to the new composting facility co-located at the city-county landfill site on Bensfort Road. Once the trucks are across the scales, their first stop is the receiving building where the organics are tipped out and mixed with leaf and yard waste to achieve the right balance of carbon (from leaf waste) and nitrogen (from organics) to optimize the composting process.
Once mixed, the material goes into a series of concrete bunkers equipped with Gore Covers that help maintain optimal temperature and moisture levels for aerobic digestion. This is where the magic really happens. After six weeks of moving through the bunkers the material has reduced in volume by about 25 per cent and is then ready to be moved into uncovered windrows for a further four to six weeks.
At this point, it has been almost three months since these kitchen scraps left the curb, and they look a whole lot different.
After curing in windrows, the compost is passed through a rotary screening machine that removes large pieces of material and contaminants, like plastic. Once it’s all screened, it’s tested to ensure it meets the Ontario compost quality standards and to measure nutrient content. The finished product is a great big pile of rich, earthy compost ready to start the cycle all over again.
But that’s not all. While 28,000 households seems like a lot (it is), there are still apartments, condominiums, and the commercial sector that aren’t included in the program yet.
Plans for future phases of the organics program will be subject to assessments of the lessons the city has learned throughout phase one of the program, the goals for expansion, and the necessary budget and timing considerations that go along with such a big municipal project.
Household participation in phase one has been outstanding, and the city is now collecting about 20 per cent more material than originally projected. This is great news, but it will require capacity-building to meet the needs of all residents and sectors into the future. This too is possible.
The City of Peterborough received federal grant funding through the Low Carbon Economy Fund to build the compost facility. The provincial government has been contemplating a ban on organics in landfills since 2018. This demonstrates that other levels of government have a stake in expanding composting capacity.
Of course, with new adventures come lessons learned. The city still deals with an unfortunate amount of plastic contamination in the organic material. Whether by accident or due to dubious branding of “compostable” products, a lot of plastic continues to enter the compost facility.
This includes plastic pet waste bags labelled as biodegradable (which is not the same as compostable), milk bags and snack wrappers tossed in the wrong bin, and spoiled produce left in its packaging. With the help and attention of community members, waste can be kept in its place and out of local compost.
Separating organics from garbage has brought the overall diversion rate to more than 75 per cent and increased the life expectancy of the city-county landfill by almost three years.
The value of the work community members put into waste diversion is clear, and the success of the program is due in large part to the dedication of residents.
Keep up the good work, Peterborough!
Green bin tips
- Squirrels love compostable material and will chew right through the green bin to get at it. If these determined foragers damage your bin, call the city’s public works department at 705-745-1386. They will come to your house to repair it.
- Washing out your green bin every month helps reduce odour and pests, like flies and wasps. Simply hose it out or pour hot water around the inside to rinse it.
- Yard waste like leaves and weeds do not belong in the green bin. These should be collected in yard waste bags or in bins labeled with a yellow City of Peterborough green waste sticker.
For more helpful green bin tips, visit peterborough.ca/greenbin.
Shivaan Burke is the Waste Management and Circular Economy coordinator for the Environmental Services Division at the City of Peterborough. GreenUP invited the city to write this column to kick off Circular Economy Month in October. A circular economy minimizes waste by reusing and recycling materials in a continuous loop. Composting turns organic waste into valuable compost which can enrich soil and reduce the need for new resources.
Visit the GreenUP Store and Resource Centre for kitchen collectors, backyard composters, compost liners, and city yard waste stickers. The store also offers a hard-to-recycle drop-off station for coffee bags, oral care waste and packaging, air and home care recycling, and razors and shaving items. The store is located at 378 Aylmer Street North in downtown Peterborough, or you can shop online at shop.greenup.on.ca.
