HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-03-17, Page 63An exterior view of the Hensall Compost Facility. (Patrick RaftIs photo)
Hensall is a leader in composting
by Patrick Raftis
When it comes to composting, the
tiny village of Hensall thinks big.
Imagine a composter the size of a
hockey arena.
A search for an alternative
method of disposing of grain
screening waste from local pro-
cessors has led the village - to a
position as a nationalleader in the
` area of composting.
The official opening of the
Hensall Compost Facility on Friday,
Oct. 16, was the culmination of a
process initiated in 1987 -by Hensall
Village Council.
At the time, wastes from the three
large seed -cleaning and processing
elevators that make Hensall
Canada's largest inland granary
accounted for. about 40 per cent
(about ,2,240 tons/year) of the
Hensall landfill site's total volume. "
In the interim,. the percentage of
total waste volume • from grain
screenings at the landfill site
increased to -approximately 90 .per
cent of total volume:
Diverting waste to the facility --
• the largest open -channel;. in -vessel
composting system of .its kind in
Canada -- is expected to greatly
extend the life expectancy of the
Hensall landfill site,. located in
- Usborne Township.
Under the previous system, with
grain screening wastes being buried,
the site's estimated .lifespan was
about five. years. With up to 90 per
cent ,of waste being diverted to.
compost, the site is now expected to
last at least 10 to 15 more years.
The provincial Ministry,.of Envi-
ronment provided 45 per cent of the
funding for the project, with the
three local elevators (Cook's Divi--
sion of Parrish and Heimbecker,
Hensall Co-op and W.G. Thompson
and Sons) providing the remaining
55 per cent of the approximately $1
million cost of the facility.
The Village of Hensall contrib-
uted the site for the facility and a
$100,000 tub grinder, capable of
grinding up material such as card-
board and wood into a cotnpostabie
form. "..
"You can compost almost any-
thing," said Chris Lee, of L.H.
Resource Management, Walton, the
firm which built the aerobic com-
posting system used at the site.
Currently the composter serves
primarily the Hensall area and
communtiies where sattelite oper-
ations of the local elevators are
located. However, the facility's
board of management is currently
considering MOE recommendations
to apply for an expanded certificate
approval, which would allow -the
site to accept compostable material
from throughout Huron County. .
During the process of obtaining
ministry approval and funding,
Hensall Council agreed to work
with the county's waste managment
committee on the possiblity of
making ' the facility a part of
Huron's overall waste management
strategy.
What will be composed?
Hensall's Compost .Facility, the
largest of its kind in Canada, is a
continuous -flow, open -channel, in -
vessel aerobic composting unit.
In aerobic composting oxygen is
introduced in the agitating and
mixing . phases of composting,
which accelerates decomposition by
supporting aerobic bacteria which
have the highest metabolic rate. An
aerobic bacteria reaction produces
by-products such as water vapor
and carbon dioxide.
Anaerobic composting, in which
organic matter is left in a static pile
or windrow to decompose without
oxygen was dismissed as' an option
at the Hensall Site for a variety of
reasons. It was considered impracti-
•turn to page 15a
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