An appeal made by Foundation Organics after the Capital Regional District suspended their licence in September was turned down last week.
On Friday, Oct. 11 the CRD released a review of the appeal that stated that the company is in non-compliance with the CRD’s bylaws regarding compositing facility regulations and added some interesting facts found in the review process.
The CRD found that between Jan. 2 and Aug. 16 of this year, scale data from Foundation Organics showed that the company received 4,474 tonnes of food waste, exceeding the licensed annual maximum by 10 per cent.
The report also stated that the facility generated 1,412 complaints regarding odour between April and mid-September which an expert, Dr. Hubert Timenga (Ph.D., P.Ag.) said “likely indicates that the composting facility received and processed volumes beyond its operating capacity.”
The review also stated that the facility was in contravention of several points of their approved operating plan. Those include the fact that rows of compost were not being covered by a mixture of compost material and wood chips to keep odour down, the moisture content of the compost product was too high, creating anerobicity in the compost piles (also contributing to odour) and that the exhaust system in the building did not conform to specifications.
The CRD has now fully suspended Foundation Organics’ license and has directed the facility to remove all compost within the compost building and direct the material to an alternate composting facility or to the landfill for disposal by no later than Oct. 25.
The CRD’s suspension could be lifted if Foundation Organics submits an approved and amended recycler license application that includes a plan that addresses the processing capacity and operational and odour management plans.
reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com