Waste-to-Energy: A different equation through anaerobic digestion

Following the B.C. government’s approval of a proposed Cache Creek Landfill Extension Project, there was been speculation about the value of waste-to-energy facilities such as incinerators. Do waste-to-energy facilities lock the Metro Vancouver region into supplying garbage as a feedstock for power production? What types of emissions do they produce? What is the residual waste after the incineration process?

Harvest Power Canada Ltd. (Harvest) is proud to bring an alternative waste-to-energy equation to the table: High Solids Anaerobic Digestion (HSAD). HSAD technology is clean, renewable, locally sourced, and locally distributed. How it works: We put organic feedstock (yard trimmings and food scraps) into a garage-like airtight containers. Then, naturally-occurring microbes break down the waste, producing biogas (methane and carbon dioxide) during the degradation process. We capture the biogas as it is produced and use it to make electricity, heat, natural gas, or compressed natural gas (CNG). Finally, the remaining digestate (the stuff left after the microbes have had their feast on the food and yard waste) gets composted and added to soil products for farms and gardens.

Some might ask, “Doesn’t anaerobic digestion technology lock the region into supplying organic waste as feedstock for power production?” Not exactly. The majority of waste generators - homes, apartments, businesses, restaurants, and markets - need a place to compost their organic materials. Our composting facility, Fraser Richmond Soil & Fibre Ltd., provides this service for the Metro Vancouver region. Our high solids anaerobic digestion technology “empowers” the composting facility, bringing the region closer to energy independence and a zero waste economy.

Greenopolis.com is dedicated to our users. We focus our attention on changing the world through recycling, waste-to-energy and conservation. We reward our users for their sustainable behaviors on our website, through our Greenopolis Tracking Stations and with curbside recycling programs.

GREENOP4986