Project details

CWA was engaged by the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) to provide engineering services for the design and construction of a new composting facility. The project was launched as part of RMOW’s “Whistler 2020 – Moving Toward a Sustainable Future” integrated community sustainability plan with the goal of reducing the amount of solid waste entering landfills by maximizing solid waste recycling. The facility takes food and wood waste from the community, in addition to biosolids from the sewage treatment plant, and processes them into profitable, nutrient-rich Class A compost or biofuel.

Challenges

Although odour and leachate problems are commonly associated with composting processes, RMOW required the new facility to be odour-free.

Solutions

The facility is equipped with an in-vessel composting system that is capable of processing a large mix of organic materials while minimizing odour and leachate problems. To prevent any odours caused by waste material carried outside on the wheels of waste delivery trucks, CWA developed an innovative waste delivery and handling arrangement in which the trucks dump into a contained collection pit through an opening in the building. The trucks do not enter the building or drive through any spilled materials.

Inside the plant, the waste materials are handled with an automated crane system, a streamlined process of feeding the in-vessel system and handling the end products that minimizes the need for operating labour and eliminates manual handling with mobile equipment such as front-end loaders. This process prevents waste material from being tracked outside by the wheels on mobile equipment and helps to contain any odours within the enclosed facility. The efficient design also maximizes the site contour, reducing the cost of construction.