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Composting Food And Yard Waste Atop A Landfill

The City of San Diego (CSD) was composting up to 100,000 tons of green waste material per year using turned windrow technology. As food waste was being added as a new feedstock, and because of the contamination from their automated curbside collection process, the City wanted to evaluate in-vessel technology for the purposes of composting mixed green waste and food waste.


PROJECT DETAILS

Ownership: City of San Diego
Location: Miramar Greenery, CA
Start-Up: 2019
Product: SG MOBILE® System
Input quantity: 45,000 TPY
No. of Heaps: 24 Heaps, 18 covered, 100 ft. x 26 ft. x 12 ft. each
Treatment Time: 8 weeks in 3 Phases
Aeration: Above ground
Control Parameters: Proprietary California Compliant Control mode and Oxygen Control mode
Input material: Source Separated Organics (commercial, institutional, residential food waste) / Yard Waste (tree, grass, and leaves)
Equipment: Pre-Treatment (Grinders) / Front-End-Loader(s) / Electric Powered Winder / Mobile Screen
End Product: High Quality Finished Compost


THE SG SOLUTION

Pilot Scale Demonstration Project

Since food waste was added as a new feedstock, and because of the contamination from their automated curbside collection process, the City wanted to evaluate in-vessel technology for the purposes of composting mixed green waste and food waste. After several alternative methods were evaluated, the City chose to implement an SG MOBILE® System with GORE® Cover (covered aerated static pile) Pilot-Scale Demonstration Project in 2009.

  • Food Waste Composting: Compost a new feedstock – commercial, institutional, and residential food waste.
  • Evaluate the ability to produce a high-quality finished compost while controlling Odors, GHG Emissions, Leachate, Moisture, and Vectors.
  • Meet or exceed local, county, and state regulations.
  • Evaluate the operating capability and simplicity of the technology.
  • Develop a model for the total cost to build and operate the composting technology.

PROJECT GALLERY

SG MOBILE® System at San Diego Miramar Greenery Landfill

 


RESULTS DELIVERED

SG MOBILE® System Outperforms Existing Windrow Turning Process

Of significant importance to the Pilot-Scale Demonstration Project was that the SG MOBILE® System process outperformed the existing windrow turning process for quality, time to manufacture, and performance. In addition, the demonstration project validated the following:

  • Waterproof, breathable cover suitable for all SoCal climate conditions
  • Clear separation of stormwater from leachate
  • Small footprint (45K TPY on <3 acres)
  • Low energy costs (<2kw per ton processed)
  • Oxygen-controlled treatment process
  • Conserve moisture during the composting process
  • Meet or exceed all government emissions standards
  • 8-week treatment time

The IoT-enabled SG COMPOST CONTROL™ System is a secure plug-and-play solution that can be operated from any smart device from anywhere in the world, reducing the cost and complexity of installation and operation. Of additional note is the fact that Sustainable Generation, LLC delivered an all-electric cover winder machine for this project for the first time. Previous generation winders were diesel or gas-powered.

This Pilot-Scale Demonstration Project, along with other positive results of the GORE® Cover’s performance at existing facilities in California, helped CSD earn a $3 million grant from CalRecycle for this project in 2017.

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