Compost Facility

Since August 2009, Lafleche has been processing organic material in its state-of-the-art compost facility. The facility receives various biodegradable feedstocks and bulking agents including: food scraps, food processing residues, paper/cardboard, leaf and yard waste, and other organic materials. The process consists of mechanically agitating the materials in enclosed channels equipped with forced aeration.

Processing

The composting process, including the blending of organics and the active composting process, is carried out indoors. The different organic materials are mixed in an industrial grade mixer in order to achieve a homogeneous blend with proper carbon to nitrogen ratio and moisture content, and are conveyed to the active composting channels. The composting process takes between 21 and 28 days, after which the material undergoes a curing phase before it can be beneficially utilized as an agricultural soil amendment, soil additive or a cover material.

Odour Control

One of the greatest challenges in processing organics is odour control.  Effective odor control has been achieved by incorporating the following into our facility:

• Double enclosed structure
• High quality compost feedstocks and bulking agents
• Negative pressure maintained in the facility
• Air extraction and treatment via a double sized biofilter
• Gas/temperature monitoring
• High speed roll-up doors
• Training of operators