Meeting SB1383 requirements while proving the scalability and value of SG Advanced Composting Technology
As of 2014, Mid Valley Disposal had no previous composting experience and wanted to create a Compost Manufacturing Process capable of composting food waste.
PROJECT DETAILS
Ownership: Mid Valley Disposal
Location: Kerman, California
Start-Up Date: Demonstration: 2014 / Full Scale: 2017 / Expansion: 2020
Product: SG BUNKER® System with GORE® Cover
Input quantity: 90,000 TPY
No. of Heaps: 24 Bunkers, 18 covered, 164 ft. x 27 ft. x 12 ft. each
Treatment Time: 8 weeks in 3 phases
Aeration: In-ground
Control Parameters: Oxygen Control Mode
Input material: Source Separated Organics / Yard Waste
Equipment: Pre-Treatment (Grinders) / Front-end-loaders / Mobile Screen
End Product: High Quality Finished Compost
FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE
"We had no composting experience so conducting a demonstration project with Sustainable Generation greatly enhanced our understanding of food waste composting and helped us immensely with our subsequent expansion design process. It really made a difference, during the selection process, that SG’s technology was already a proven solution for meeting VOC emission reductions for our San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District."
- Jonathan Kalpakoff, VP Mid Valley Disposal
THE SG SOLUTION
Proving the Scale of SG's Systems
Mid Valley Disposal (MVD) implemented a SG MOBILE® System with GORE® Cover (covered aerated static pile) Pilot-Scale Demonstration Project in 2014 as a way to test the following:
SG 8-Week Compost Manufacturing Process
Food Waste Composting
The MVD Pilot-Scale Demonstration Project helped MVD to learn the end-to-end organics composting process and also enabled them to test the constraints, abilities, mix ratios and all other requirements, including odor and VOC emission control, to decide whether or not they wanted to enter into organics composting operations. In addition to other standards, MVD’s facility needed to meet the GHG emission reductions (Rules 4465 and 4466) required by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
MVD selected Sustainable Generation’s SG MOBILE® with GORE® Covers because it was already a proven solution for meeting VOC emission reductions for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
The demonstration project resulted in MVD’s decision to start a composting operation and it also validated their choice of the SG BUNKER® with GORE® Covers as the product to use for their full scale operation. Additionally, lessons learned during the demonstration project helped MVD gain valuable input for the full-scale facility design process. They learned that because of their hot, dry environment, it would be necessary to add water to the process, so they had water piping designed into the new facility saving time and money for their full-scale operation. Also of value was the education the demonstration project provided regarding the vital importance of the front-end source separation collection and transportation components.
PROJECT GALLERY
The SG Bunker® System at Mid Valley Disposal
RESULTS DELIVERED
A Sustainable Solution with True Scale
Mid Valley Disposal’s full-scale facility was the first facility in the Central Valley for diverting large volumes of food scraps in order to meet Californian’s organic diversion mandates.
MVD received a $3 million grant from CalRecycle as part of the funding for their full-scale, 16-bunker, 60,000 TPY compost facility. CalRecycle, through their 2014-2015 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Organics Grant Program, awarded MVD the grant to help expand the infrastructure needed to recycle greater amounts of organic material in California.
In August 2017, MVD was awarded a second 2016-2017 CalRecycle grant in the amount of $1,875,000 through the same grant program to help with MVD’s 8-bunker expansion that was built and commissioned in 2020.