State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report. First Annual Report

Transcription

1 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report First Annual Report May 2, 2016

2 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report Table of Contents About the Ontario Waste Management Association... 2 Introduction... 3 Methodology... 3 Organic Processing Facilities in Ontario... 4 Approved Processing Capacity... 6 Waste Received... 8 APPENDIX

3 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report About the Ontario Waste Management Association The Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA) is the largest waste/resource management trade association in Canada, representing over 230 members across Ontario including private and public organizations, municipalities, and individuals involved in the waste management sector. OWMA members manage over 85% of the province s waste and recyclables and have diverse interests and capital investments in areas such as waste and recyclables collection, landfills, transfer stations, material recovery facilities (MRFs), energy from waste facilities, organics processing and composting facilities and hazardous waste. They are at the core of the green economy. Over the last decade, the association has been a leader on the discussion around the future of waste management in Ontario, and has released a number of reports and policy papers on this topic: First Annual State of Waste in Ontario Landfill Report ReThink Organic Waste: A Circular Strategy for Organics ReThink Waste 2015: Evolution Towards a Circular Economy OWMA Disposal Levies - ReThink Policy Paper Series OWMA Extended Producer Responsibility ReThink Policy Paper Series OWMA Disposal Bans ReThink Policy Paper Series ReThink Waste: A Blue Print for Harnessing the Economic Benefits of Resource Management in Ontario OWMA Guiding Principles: Integrated Solid Waste Resource Recovery & Utilization All of these materials can be found on OWMA s website: OWMA has also supported the following leading edge research and projects:. Torrie Smith Associates, Kelleher Environment & Sonnevera, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Ontario Waste Management Industry White Paper, Canadian Standards Association, Guideline for Accountable Management of End-of-Life Materials, Conference Board of Canada, Opportunities for Ontario s Waste: Economic Impacts of Waste Diversion in North America, cg, Ontario Organic Waste Management Strategy, CD Howe, The Eco-Fee Imbroglio: Lessons from Ontario s Troubled Experiment in Charging for Waste Management,

4 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report Introduction Last year, the Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA) embarked on a major data collection and analysis initiative to better understand data related to waste management in the province. This initial State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report will become an annual publication, which will be expanded and refined based on the needs of the sector. This data will be helpful in shaping future policy decisions for the waste management sector; enable those in the industry to make better business decisions; and provides better information to inform and educate the broader public. It is important to underline that this first report offers just a hint of the utility of this new database to analyze data in the sector. Before more complicated analysis can be done, it is important to ensure the rigour in the data. While the database is more comprehensive and accurate than anything currently in place, this will be a continuous process of adding to and refining it. It is also important to ensure data is being captured and analyzed in the most accurate manner. Methodology Data provided by the waste management sector was used to create individual accounts for all identified compost and anaerobic digestion facilities in the province. It should also be noted that the current data set does not yet include organics wastes processed at rendering facilities or managed as animal feed. In future surveys, OWMA will look at ways to encourage participation in these areas. Participants provided data voluntarily through Re-TRAC Connect, an online data platform used by governments and private organizations across North America. A copy of the full organics survey and definitions used are included in Appendix A. Participation was high for OWMA owned organic processing facilities surveyed and minimal issues with the survey design were identified. 1 Currently, the OWMA does not represent many on-farm anaerobic digestion facilities. Participation in this area was low and as a result the dataset is fairly limited. For facilities where no data was inputted, OWMA utilized publicly available and reliable data including Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECAs), reports to municipal councils, previous OWMA surveys, and Waste Diversion Ontario s datacall. OWMA recognizes that the data may include some estimates by participants and that the use of both standard and waste-specific conversion factors (i.e. tonnes to cubic metres) may impact the accuracy of the data. 2 Efforts will be made over the next few years to improve the data, with the goal of establishing it as the most comprehensive and accurate source for waste management information in Ontario. 1 The issues identified were relatively minor issues such as facilities that had different seasonal operating times, some confusion with entering waste processed by material type and edits to some of the definitions. These issues will be addressed in next year s survey. 2 A conversion factor of 1 cubic meter to 1 tonne has been applied. In the future, we hope to provide participants with the ability to adjust the conversion rate based on the material being disposed of and the compaction levels at the specific facility. 3

5 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report Organic Processing Facilities in Ontario In 2014, there were a total of 76 3 organics processing facilities in Ontario. Based on the technology used to process organic wastes, these facilities can be broken down into four major categories, as follows: Compost Facilities are facilities where organic waste is converted to compost under aerobic conditions. Compost facilities can handle diverse organic feedstocks, ranging from leaf and yard waste and wood waste to biosolids, food waste, and digestate depending on the facility design and technology. A total of 41 composting facilities have been identified through ECAs, with good data available for both approved capacity and waste processed. 72% of these facilities are publicly owned, with the remaining 28% owned by private companies. These facilities can be further broken down by composting method: o o In-vessel: A method where the organic materials being processed are enclosed in some sort of vessel (e.g. metal tanks or concrete bunkers) and provided with supplemental aeration for the most active part of the composting process. Invessel facilities can take a greater range of organic materials than windrow facilities due to odour concerns. In 2014, there were 12 4 facilities using this method of composting in Ontario, including 5 publicly owned and 7 privately owned sites. Windrow: A method whereby compost is produced by mixing organic wastes in long, relatively narrow rows (windrows) for the entire composting process. These facilities tend to be more limited in the materials they can process and are mainly used for leaf and yard waste and smaller amounts of source separated organics. In 2014, there were 29 5 windrow composting facilities in Ontario, the majority (83%) of which were publicly owned. Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Facilities are facilities where organic waste is degraded and converted to digestate under anaerobic conditions and generally produce a produce a renewable energy either directly to the electrical grid or in the form of a fuel. The value of these outputs will hopefully be further outlined in future reports. As these facilities use invessel processing, they are particularly suited to handle food waste, which has high intrinsic energy values and significant odor challenges. Ontario had a total of 35 AD facilities in 2014, the majority (92%) of which are privately owned. These facilities can be further defined by location and their organic material feedstock: o On-farm: Located on a farm operation and organic materials generated from the farming operations 6 (e.g. manure, bedding, feed waste, runoff from silos, etc.) are one of the primary feedstocks. These facilities have the added increase the treatment of manure to reduce pathogens. They are regulated somewhat differently 3 In several cases multiple technologies are used on one site. For the purposes of this report, from an overall count these facilities are counted as one. 4 Includes two facilities that also have more minor windrow operations (1 public and 1 private). 5 Excludes two facilities that mainly process through in-vessel (1 public and 1 private). 6 As defined in Ontario Regulation 267/03, available at: 4

6 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report than other facilities as they have the ability to accept up to 50% of off-farm feedstock (see O. Reg. 267/03) without the need to seek an Environmental Compliance Approval. In 2014, there were 29 on-farm AD facilities in Ontario, all of which are privately owned. While information is available on approved capacity, there was missing data on the amount of waste received, and so this was not included in the database. o Off-farm: Process organic materials that are primarily from non-farming operation (e.g. source separated organics, grease trap residuals, leaf and yard waste, etc.) and are generally not located on farming operations. There were only 6 7 off-farm facilities operating in Private companies own 3 of these facilities, with the remaining 3 being publicly owned. Data was not available on waste received. Figure 1 presents a percentage breakdown of the types of organic processing facilities in Ontario in Figure 1 Organics Processing Facilities in Ontario, by Type (2014) Organics Processing Facilities in Ontario (2014), by Type 38% 38% Anaerobic Digesters (On-Farm) - 29 Anaerobic Digesters (Off-Farm) - 6 Compost (In-Vessel) % 8% Compost (Windrow) - 29 Figure 2 illustrates the breakdown of public- and privately-owned organics processing facilities in Ontario in Excludes one private facility that is also mainly processes materials in-vessel. 5

7 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report Figure 2 Organics Processing Facilities in Ontario, Public vs. Private (2014) Organics Processing Facilities in Ontario (2014) - Private vs. Public 58% 42% Total Public - 32 Total Private - 44 Approved Processing Capacity As more organic waste is collected in the province through diversion programs, pressure for growth in organics processing capacity will increase. Based on the data collected by OWMA, Ontario had an approved processing capacity of 2.3 million tonnes in It is important to note, however, that there is a critical distinction between the approved processing capacity and how much organic waste can actually be processed at specific facilities. Not all facilities can accept all types of organic wastes and other restrictions exist including geographic and other technical limitations. Some facilities are not able to process the tonnage or volume of materials they are approved for due to technological or design constraints. Additionally, approved processing capacity may not be reflective of what can be actually processed in a given year due to operational constraints, which include facility shut downs for preventative maintenance or unplanned downtime. Also facilities may choose not to accept all the types of waste they are permitted to process under their Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) due to concerns around issues such as odour. Figure 3 presents an overview of approved organics processing capacity in Ontario segregated by facility type. 6

8 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report Figure 3 - Approved Capacity (Tonnes) for Organics Processing Facilities in Ontario, by Facility Type (2014) 1,200,000 1,000, ,000 Approved Organics Processing Capacity in Ontario, by Facility Type (2014) Tonnes 600, , ,000 0 Anerobic Digesters (On-Farm) - 8% Anaerobic Digesters (Off- Farm) - 20% Compost (In- Vessel) - 49% Compost (Windrow) - 23% As shown in the figure, nearly 50% of the province s approved capacity in 2014 was represented by in-vessel composting facilities. Anaerobic digesters, which represent newer infrastructure in the province, now account for almost 30% of the approved capacity with the majority from off-farm facilities. Figure 4 illustrates the breakdown between public and private sector owned organics processing capacity in Ontario in Based on OWMA s database, the overall division is almost one-third public ownership and two-thirds private ownership. 7

9 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report Figure 4 Approved Capacity (Tonnes) at Organics Processing Facilities in Ontario by Ownership (2014) Approved Organics Processing Capacity in Ontario (2014) - Private vs. Public 32% Total Public Total Private 68% Waste Processed Having accurate data on the amount of waste received and processed at organics processing facilities across Ontario is important as it provides information on how much of the approved capacity is actually being used, and how much may be available to accommodate new and/or expanded organics programs. This is valuable information for policy makers charged with the responsibility for waste management planning and future organics diversion. In 2014, organic processing facilities in Ontario received approximately 1.4 million 8 tonnes of organic waste. This includes various types of material such as source-separated garden and food waste, timber/wood waste, manure, animal litter and bedding, and certain industrial wastes (e.g. biosolids, grease trap, fish processing waste, paper pulp, etc.). This number does not include the most of the organic material processed at on-farm AD facilities or sent to rendering plants. It also excludes organic wastes that are fed directly to livestock. As a result, the amount of processed organic waste is likely higher. As shown in Figure 5, 79% of this waste was processed at compost facilities, with only 21% being processed at AD facilities. Figure 6 shows the majority of organic waste (61%) was processed in privately owned. 8 Data on-farm AD facilities was not available and so was not included. 8

10 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report Figure 5 - Waste Processed at Organics Facilities in Ontario, by Facility Type (2014) Tonnes Waste Received at Organics Processing Facilities in Ontario (2014), by Facility Type 800, , , , , , , ,000 0 Compost In-Vessel - 50% Compost Windrow - 29% Anaerobic Digesters - 21% Note: Specific data was not available on the breakdown between waste received at on-farm and off-farm AD facilities. Figure 6 - Waste Processed at Organics Facilities in Ontario, by Ownership (2014) Waste Processed at Organics Processing Facilities in Ontario (2014) - Private vs. Public 61% 39% Public Private When comparing OWMA s data to the latest data on organics waste processed annually released by Statistics Canada, 9 there is a 28% discrepancy (see Figure 6). 10 This is similar inconsistency to what 9 Statistics Canada. Table Materials diverted, by type, Canada, provinces and territories, every 2 years (tonnes), CANSIM (database). Available at: 9

11 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report was reported in this year s State of Waste in Ontario Landfill Report. It is also similar to findings by the United States by the Environmental Research and Education Foundation, which found volumes for waste disposal and recycling to be much higher than previously reported by the US EPA or other state authorities. This is likely due to the amount modeling and actual data reported in. Figure 6 - Comparison of OWMA (2014) and Statistics Canada (2012) Data on Organic Waste Processed by Ontario Processing Facilities in 2014 (Tonnes) Tonnes 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 1,000, , , , ,000 OWMA (2014) vs. Statistics Canada (2012) Data on Waste Processed at Organics Processing Facilities in Ontario 0 OWMA Stats Can Statistics Canada (1.07M Tonnes) Compost (Windrow) (0.41M Tonnes) Compost (In-Vessel) (0.71M Tonnes) Note: Specific data was not available on the breakdown between waste received at on-farm and off-farm AD facilities. 10 Statistics Canada data does include waste export. 10

12 State of Waste in Ontario: Organics Report APPENDIX 11

13 ANNUAL OPERATIONAL ORGANICS REPORT DEFINITIONS Ontario Waste Management Association: Facility Reporting Program Facility Technology Definitions Open Windrow Open windrow composting refers to a method where organic wastes are composted in long, relatively narrow, and low piles for the entire composting process. In-Vessel In-vessel composting refers to a method where organic wastes are completely contained and provided with supplemental aeration, in some sort of vessel, for the most active part of the composting process. Anaerobic Digestion Anaerobic digestion refers to a controlled and managed microbiological process that is used to decompose organic wastes in the absence of oxygen. Biogas and digestate is produced from the AD process. Anaerobic digestion can take place at industrial scale facilities or at small on farm facilities. Rendering Rendering can refer to any processing of animal products into more useful materials like animal feed and fats and oils. Waste Type Definitions Residential Source Separated Organics (SSO) Residential source separated organics (SSO) refers to organic materials (e.g., food waste, nonrecyclable paper) collected from dwellings, including apartment buildings and condominiums. Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) SSO Industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) SSO refers to organic materials (e.g., food waste, slaughterhouse waste, food processing residuals, wood waste and paper products), collected from non-residential wholesale or retail locations including restaurants, grocery stores, food processors, office buildings, schools, institutions (e.g. hospitals). Municipal/Industrial Biosolids Municipal / industrial biosolids includes solid or semisolid material obtained from treated wastewater. Leaf & Yard Waste (Residential and IC&I) Any waste collected from a yard or garden such as leaves, grass clippings, plants, tree trimmings and branches. Wood Waste The primary constituents of wood waste are used lumber, trim, trees, branches, and other wood debris from construction and demolition clearing and grubbing activities. It includes; dimensional Page 1

14 lumber, plywood, particle board and fibre board, crating, wood fencing, pressure treated lumber, wood shingles, wooden doors, creosoted wood products, demolition wood waste, painted wood. Agricultural Waste Agricultural waste includes all waste materials produced as a result of agricultural activities, including, for example, residues from the application of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and other chemicals, wastewater, bedding material, etc. Digestate Digestate refers to the material remaining after the anaerobic digestion of a biodegradable feedstock. Product Based Output Definitions Source Separated Organics Compost Source separated organics (SSO) compost includes compost produced from SSO or digestate derived from SSO that meets Ontario s Compost Quality Standards. Leaf and Yard Compost Leaf and yard compost refers to compost produced only with leaf and yard wastes that meets Ontario s Compost Quality Standards. Uncategorized Amendment Uncategorized amendment refers to compost that does not meet Ontario s Compost Quality Standards. Digestate or Compost for Further Processing Digestate or compost for further processing refers to compost or digestate that are sent for further processing. Digestate for Direct Application Digestate for direct application refers to digestate that is being applied directly to land. Edible Based Products Edible based products refers to materials processed to be used for animal or human consumption. Non-Edible Based Products Non-edible based products refers to organic materials processed to manufacture of chemicals, plastics and other industrial and consumer goods. Waste Derived Fuels Waste derived fuels include fuel produced from materials including biogas and biodiesel. Page 2 If you have additional questions please contact the Ontario Waste Management Association or info@owma.org

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25