Town of Banff

Organics, Composting and Bio-solids

Thousands of tonnes of residential and commercial municipal solid waste are generated each year in the Town of Banff and transported to landfill in Calgary. Food waste alone composes almost 50% of all the municipal waste in Banff. Transporting this heavy material to Calgary landfill exposes the Town to increasing transportation and disposal fees while contributing to pollution and other environmental issues associated with landfill sites.

While 'backyard' composting of organic waste is not currently permitted in Banff National Park for wildlife reasons, the existing bio-solids composting facility located at the Banff Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) provides Banff with an opportunity to demonstrate the feasibility of generating useful compost from the organic waste generated in the townsite. If more organic waste can be diverted to this facility, it can be used to process more municipal waste into marketable compost. This will mean environmental (and financial) benefits for the town, and its taxpayers who ultimately pay the costs of municipal waste management.

Banff's wastewater treatment plant - a success story

The Town of Banff operates a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) that was originally designed and constructed in the early 1980’s by Parks Canada.  In 2002, the Town undertook a major upgrade of the WWTP, making it one of the most comprehensive facilities of its kind in Canada. 
 
The residue that remains after the physical, chemical and biological processes of any municipal WWTP is commonly referred to as biosolid. A key part of the Banff upgrades was the addition of in-vessel composting tunnels to stabilize the organic matter and reduce pathogens.  Here, wood amendment is added to dewatered biosolids and ventilation is injected into long caverns for approximately 28 days in order to produce a composted product that then requires an outside ‘curing’ period of 6-12 months. Compost has been generated in quantities of approximately 2,500 tonnes per year, and this is increasing with the recent diversion of food waste organics.

The WWTP compost facility was commissioned in February of 2003. This facility greatly limits the production of methane gas (a particularly harmful greenhouse gas, or GHG) that would otherwise be result from anaerobic decomposition of organics in landfill. Compost was first produced from this facility on March 24, 2003 and methane emissions have consequently been reduced since that time. Based on quantification protocols approved by the provincial government, Banff is eligible to claim 17,490 tonnes of GHG offset credits for 2007.

On May 26, 2008, Town Council voted to sell the offset credits accumulated from the WWTP compost facility.  The approximate $500,000 in revenue will be put towards new environmental initiatives, such as additional WWTP upgrades, that will further reduce our GHG emissions.

More information:

• Banff's Wastewater Treatment Plant ( PDF - 1.2 MB)
  

• Banff's Bio-solids Composting Process ( PDF - 450 kb)

Town of Banff and Organic Composting

The Town of Banff and the Bow Valley Waste Management Commission began a trial of a new organics composting process in 2007 that aimed to divert food waste from the garbage stream and the regional landfill.  The experience has resulted in a long-term commitment by the Town to organics waste diversion allowing residents and businesses to save their food waste and toss it into special organics bins that have been placed at each recycling location around the townsite.

More information:

• Organics Composting in Banff