News - Jun 28, 2023 Tool to Assist Decision-Making: Selection of Organics Management Solution

Choosing an appropriate facility to process organic material specific to the local needs and context has got a little easier with the release of the PacWastePlus “Organics Management Decision Support Tool”.

Organic waste to landfill still comprises between 30-40% of waste to landfills across the Pacific, wasting valuable space and creating “anaerobic” conditions that cause odour, methane, and leachate.  Diverting this material to an organics processing facility can convert this “waste” into a valuable resource, such as animal feed, mulch, compost, or biogas.

But selecting the appropriate option for a specific site, considering the quantity and range of organic materials available for processing, the budget available, and other site-specific factors, can be a challenging task.

“To assist in this decision-making process, PacWastePlus has developed a ‘Decision Support Tool’ which guides users through nine simple questions”, says Ms. Hilary Boyes, Technical Waste Project Officer – Resource Recovery. “From the responses to these questions, the Tool will provide a ranked list of ‘Possible Organics Management Solutions’ for users to further investigate and identify the best option for their context.”

“Once the Tool has ranked the possible options, it is recommended to then visit the PacWastePlus Organics Resources page to review the factsheets on the top three solutions identified to further understand and consider their suitability for your context”, adds Ms. Boyes. “The Resources page also has editable design drawings to assist in the design of a facility, and other resources to assist in composting and compost facility operation.

The Organics Decision Support Tool can be found here