Edmonton Composting Facility
Encyclopedia
The Edmonton Composting Facility is the site of the City of Edmonton
's advanced co-composting system for processing organic waste. Co-composting involves mixing household wastes with biosolids (sewage sludge), to create compost
. Together with the City's three recycling
programs, Edmonton is able to divert 60% of household waste from landfill
s. By 2013, the city anticipates that it will divert more than 90% of the city's household waste from the landfill
s.
building in North America. It occupies an area the size of eight Canadian football
fields: 38,690 square metres (416,500 square feet).
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
's advanced co-composting system for processing organic waste. Co-composting involves mixing household wastes with biosolids (sewage sludge), to create compost
Compost
Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is a key ingredient in organic farming. At its most essential, the process of composting requires simply piling up waste outdoors and waiting for the materials to break down from anywhere...
. Together with the City's three recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
programs, Edmonton is able to divert 60% of household waste from landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
s. By 2013, the city anticipates that it will divert more than 90% of the city's household waste from the landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
s.
Size
The co-composter is the largest in North America by volume and capacity. It can process 200,000 tonnes of residential waste and 25,000 dry tonnes of biosolids each year. It is also the largest stainless steelStainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
building in North America. It occupies an area the size of eight Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
fields: 38,690 square metres (416,500 square feet).