Sparwood Transfer Station's new organics facility is nearly ready to receive compostable food scraps from the homes of Fernie residents.
Solid waste superintendant Jim Penson said the facility is still under construction and will not be finished for two to three weeks. The receiving portion of the facility is still being built and a fence is being added to the premises to protect the compost from animals.
When curbside collection starts on Sept. 23 in Fernie, compost will be taken to the Central Subregional Landfill in Fort Steele until the facility is finished.
The Transfer Station did process yard and garden waste prior to the addition of the compost facility, but this is the first time kitchen scraps will be accepted. The organics facility will not be open to the public, so people will not be able to drop compost off there.
Penson said storing compostables in a proper facility will help cut back on methane gas emissions, which are released at landfills when waste starts to break down.
"Getting that product out of the waste stream is paramount to controlling gas at landfills," he said.
According to a 2022 report from the federal government, waste is responsible for just over a quarter of Canada's methane emissions, with the majority coming from landfills. It also found that half of all waste disposed in Canada is biodegradable, largely consisting of food, yard waste, paper and wood, which could be composted rather than going to the landfill.
More locally, a 2018 waste audit from the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) identified that approximately 29 per cent of the waste goes to local landfills.
The facility will create Class B compost, which is not available for public use and sale, but can be used by the local government for top soil in landfills, and landscaping and greenscaping projects.
Penson said very few B.C facilities make Class A compost, which is more expensive to produce, as it's cooked at a hotter temperature and for a longer period of time. He added that Class A has fewer heavy metals and less chloroform than Class B soil.
Plans for the facility were put to action in 2019 when the RDEK applied for funding from the Organics Infrastructure Program for the construction of three regional compost facilities, the others being at the Central Subregional Landfill serving Cranbrook and Kimberley, and the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Invermere. The total project cost for all three buildings is $3 million. Penson said approximately $700,000 went to the Sparwood facility..
RDEK states on its website that in the future, it will look to expand the organics collection program region-wide, which would require additional grants and funding.