Technical White Paper
Composting Toolkit
Facility Siting Guidelines
And
Navigating Compost Facility Registration
Initial program considerations. Before selecting a site and initiating
a composting programs there are a number of questions that should be
answered. These questions will help you decide if a composting program will
be appropriate and sustainable within your community. There is a strong
temptation to answer these quesions “as we go along.” In all likelihood there
will be an evolution over time and the program will evolve. But considering
these questions prior to beginning site selection and program operations will
truly help to improve the likelihood of your program being successful.
Essential Questions When Initiating a Composting Program:
What will you do with the finished product?
How much yard waste is available for you to compost?
How much yard waste can you expect to divert?
Will you utilize only yard waste or also food waste and/or biosolids?
How will you design the program to be cost effective?
What resources are currently available (monitary, personnel, sites,
and equipment)?
- What type of program will you implement?
- How are you going to finance the program?
-
Keep in mind that there is a limited list of materials that are banned
from Indiana landfills. This may influence your programs design.
Materials Subject to Indiana’s Yard Waste Disposal Ban:
- Leaves
- Brush
- Wood vegetative matter greater than 3 feet in length
Materials Exempt from Indiana’s Yard Disposal Ban:
- Grass clippings
- Wood vegetative matter bagged, bundled, or otherwise contained
and less than 3 feet in length AND combined with other solid waste
- Christmas trees
- House plants
- Vegetable food scraps
- Vegetative by-products not derived from landscaping maintenance
or land clearing projects such as from flower shops and funeral
homes
- IDEM-approved composted vegetative matter used as cover
material for solid waste landfill
Site selection. A key component of any composting operation is its
location. The site should allow for year-round access, be convenient yet
isolated, and should provide the characteristics of an ideal compost location.
The following are a number of guidelines you should look for in the selection
of a compost site. These considerations will help ensure an effective
composting operation while providing environmental protections and good
neighborly relations.
- The compost site should have a two percent down slope.
- Size the staging and windrow areas based on the anticipated
volume of materials to be handled.
- Locate compost site away from surface waters and water wells.
- Place the site close to where the materials are generally received.
- Set back the site from residential dwellings and preferably
downwind.
- Develop appropriate water runoff measures.
- Be aware of state requirements and local zoning issues.
Location. Several factors are particularly important in selecting a good
yard waste composting site. Easy year-round access to and from the site is
essential. The location should minimize the distance to be traveled by
collection vehicles. Access over uncrowded, nonresidential, hard-surface
roads is preferable. Sites that may be appropriate include: unused paved
areas, such as parking lots; the buffer area of a landfill or wastewater
treatment plant; the buffer area around industrial installations and institutions;
utility right-of-ways; municipally-owned land used for buffer areas or storage;
or county-owned land in the country.
Traffic and noise considerations must be considered. If the site is in a
residential area, local residents may demand the latest types of mufflers on
all moving equipment. This may require performance specifications on bid
documents for equipment. Noise barriers around the site may be necessary
to minimize impacts on the neighborhood. If the public is allowed to drop off
yard waste or pick up finished compost and mulch, proper access needs to
be planned. Ideally, heavy equipment should have separate access routes
from automobiles.
Finally, the local community must support the site's location. Siting
problems sometimes result from citizen opposition. To ensure citizen support,
any municipal yard waste management project should strive to educate the
public and encourage its full participation in locating and planning the site.
The location of a composting site is very critical to the success of the project.
Because of the failures of compost operations, many people consider the
location of a compost facility much like that of a landfill - NIMBY (not in my
back yard). Legal actions have tied up some projects for years. What may
look like a good inexpensive site may actually result in prohibitive
construction and operating costs. The location of the site may have a great
impact on the method of composting used. The location may dictate the use
of the in-vessel process rather than the windrow process.
Area Requirements. The area required for composting and chipping
depends on the volume of yard waste processed, the desired volume
reduction, the size and shape of windrows used, and the time required to
complete the composting process. The actual area available may dictate a
municipality's choice between composting methods.
The area required will be affected by traffic patterns, the size of the
vehicles coming to the site, the off-loading methods, the loading methods, the
amount of traffic, the separation of traffic, and materials, handling, employee
and visitor parking, entrance and exit patterns, and the composting method
being used. At a minimum, a compost site must have adequate area for the
above functions and the accumulation, processing and stockpiling of one
cycle's accumulation of composted materials. That cycle could be as short as
three months, to as long as three years, depending on the composting
method, timing of inbound materials, marketing method, timing of marketing,
and surge capacity. Adequate additional space will be needed to meet any
buffer zone requirements.
Odor is an unfortunate reality of composting operations. In Chapter 9,
Ongoing Operations, we will discuss further strategies to better manage odor,
but a reality with odor is that it is a particularly difficult problem when
neighbors living close to the composting site are actively complaining. This
reality makes siting composting operations in a more isolated location
fortunate from the odor control perspective.
While many communities will opt for a single composting site, the
option of several satellite facilities has several advantages. Smaller sites can
be located closer to the collection route, cutting down on transportation costs.
Their small size minimizes the impact on any given community. Particularly
for low-tech operations where equipment is readily mobile, small sites also
can be very cost effective.
Physical Characteristics. For a turned windrow composting facility, a
good rule of thumb suggests one acre for each 3,500 cubic yards of leaves.
At the end of this section are a pair of worksheets designed to help select an
appropriate site location and an appropriately sized site. The following is a
rough set of guidelines for the composting windrows, compost storage/curing
area, staging area, and buffer area for the turned windrow method.
The size of a windrow and the spacing between each windrow depend
on the site dimensions, the equipment used to aerate the windrows, and the
geographic location of the site. A typical layout for a facility operated with
front-end loaders is illustrated in the figure below. Ideal soils for the compost
pad are moderate to well-drained, and gently sloping for good drainage.
Since some soil likely will get mixed in with the compost during processing,
the surface layer should be free of large stones. Impermeable compost pads
are suggested only at sites where soils are highly permeable and
groundwater rises to within five feet of the surface.
As the composting process nears completion, it begins a curing or
stabilization process. The time compost will need to be kept in the curing
area will depend on the use of the compost. Longer storage time may be
needed if there is a lag between when the compost is finished and the peak
marketing season. During the curing stage, oxygen demand declines. Once
cured, the compost will not generate foul odors. The curing area should be
approximately one-fifth the size of the compost pad.
A staging area is needed at several phases of the composting and
chipping processes. Space is required to unload incoming yard waste, mix
and blend materials, chip brush, store reject material, shred and screen
compost, and load trucks for distribution. If plastic bags are separated from
the yard waste, they need to be collected and disposed of properly.
Depending on the amount of processing anticipated at the site, this area may
need to be the same size as the curing area, or about one-fifth the size of the
compost pad.
A buffer zone is required between a composting facility and its
neighbors to minimize possible odors, noise, dust, and visual impacts. A
generous buffer between the compost site and sites of non-compatible uses
can do much to eliminate potential complaints. Be sure to meet IDEMspecific requirements that are discussed at the end of this chapter.
A landscaping plan that uses trees to enhance the appearance of the
facility will reduce noise from operating equipment and will be more visually
pleasing. Berms along with trees can be used to help achieve noise reduction
and visual screening of the site. When calculating the total site area
requirements, be sure to realize that the buffer area may need to be several
times the size of the active site, particularly for small operations. For
example, in a site surrounded by businesses or homes as much as eight
acres of buffer might be required for the first acre of active site. A location
where much of that buffer is provided by adjacent undeveloped land, such as
a park, has obvious advantages.
Water is important both for adding moisture to the compost material
and for fire protection. Hydrants connected to a public water supply are ideal.
Water can also be supplied by a well, nearby lake, stream, retention pond,
runoff control pond, leachate collection system or a water truck. Approximate
water requirements for leaves to increase their moisture to a compostable
level will require approximately 20 gallons per cubic yard, depending on how
wet the leaves are when collected. It is important to know what the moisture
content of the mixture ingredients is so the amount of water needed to obtain
the proper moisture content can be calculated. Too much water can be just
as detrimental as having too little water.
A gate and fence can be used to control illegal vehicular access and
prevent illegal dumping when the site is closed. A fence surrounding the
facility will also improve security. Surveillance of the site by the police may, in
some cases, be necessary.
Site layout. The following graphic is simply an example of a potential
compost facility layout.
Site assessment worksheets. On the next few pages of this white
paper are a pair of worksheets designed to help you in the site selection
process. The first is a “Yard Waste Management Site Assessment Form”
and the second is a worksheet for “Estimating Land Requirements for Leaf
Composting.”
SAMPLE FORM:
YARD WASTE MANAGEMENT SITE ASSESSMENT FORM
Reprinted from “Yard Waste Management, A Planning Guide for New York State” by the New York State Energy
Research and Development Authority, Cornell Cooperative Extension and New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, June 1990.
YARD WASTE MANAGEMENT SITE ASSESSMENT FORM
Site Name
Site Location Description
Date of Inspection
Inspected by
This form is designed for use in the field, to obtain an objective assessment of the proposed site.
The various “factors” considered at each site receive a rating from 1 to 5, with 1 being least desirable
and 5 being most desirable.
FACTORS
RATING
1.
Site Preparation Costs
a) Compost area development………………….
b) Access road construction……………………
c) Security set-up………………………………
2.
Site Characteristics
a) Soil characteristics…………………………….
b) Proximity to water, streams, lakes……………
c) Slope and topography…………………………
(Minimum 2% Slope, Maximum 6% Slope)
d) acreage……………………………………….
e) drainage………………………………………
3.
Access by Public Roads………………………...
4.
Infrastructure
a) Water…………………………………………
b) Existing access road………………………….
c) Storage………………………………………..
d) Telephone…………………………………….
e) Electric……………………………………….
f) Scale………………………………………….
5.
Proximity to Homes…………………………….
6.
Proximity to Town in Need…………………….
7.
Regional Site Potential…………………………
8.
Land Ownership……………………………….
COMMENT
FACTORS
9.
RATING
COMMENT
Environmental Impact………………………….
a) Tree removal……………………………........
b) Habitat disturbance…………………………..
c) Dust control….…………………………........
d) Odor control …….…………………………..
e) Noise control……………………………........
f) Leachate management………………………..
10. Impact on Current Use………………………...
a) Visual………………………………………..
b) Physical……………………………………..
11. Impact on Future Use…………………………..
a) Visual…………...…………………………...
b) Physical……………………………………...
12. IDEM Criteria (minimum distances)………….
a) Residence or business, 200 ft. …..………….
b) Potable water well, 200 ft. …….….………..
c) Surface water supply, 200 ft. ..……………..
d) Outside 10-year floodplain.………..……….
e) Water table, 5 ft.……..……………………..
(There are IDEM acceptable alternatives if the 5 ft. from the water table standard cannot be met:
a concrete pad, a clay liner pad, and a synthetic liner are some of the alternatives.)
TOTAL RATING………..
General comments relative to suitability of site to serve as a municipal composting facility.
SAMPLE FORM:
ESTIMATING LAND REQUIREMENTS FOR LEAF COMPOSTING
Reprinted from "Yard Waste Management, A Planning Guide for New York State", by the New York State Energy
Research and Development Authority, Cornell Cooperative Extension and New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, June 1990.
WORKSHEET FOR CALCULATING THE AREA
NEEDED FOR A LEAF COMPOSTING SITE
(Assuming an 18 month compost cycle and a 50% volume reduction in the first year.)
1.
2.
How many single family dwelling units in collected area? ______________________
-AAssume each household generates 200 pounds of leaves (about 0.8 yd³ loosely packed).
Then the volume of leaves generated is:
_______________ X 0.8 yd³ = _______________ yd³ total volume leaves
-A-B-
3.
What percentage of the total volume will be collected? Talk to municipal collection crews or private haulers to
find out the percentage of households that set out bags of leaves. Consider the impact of a mandatory source separation
ordinance or a home composting information campaign, if either is planned.
________________ % leaves collected
-C4.
_______________ x _______________ = ______________ yd³ leaves to be composted annually
-B-C-D-
5.
How much volume is left after one year?
How long will compost material be on site?
If you are turning windrows twice a year and adding little or no water then assume an 18 month retention time.
Also assume that the first year's volume of yard waste is reduced by 50% after one year on site.
______________ yd³ x 0.5 = _______________ yd³ yard wastes remaining after one year.
-D-E6.
To calculate the potential maximum volume on site at any time, add the second year's incoming volume.
_____________ yd³ + _____________ yd³ = ______________ yd³ on site second year
-D-E-F-
7.
Assume one acre of land is needed to compost 3,500 yd³ of leaves.
______________ yd³ + 3,500 yd³/acre = _______________ acres needed
-F-
The value of F will be the range of acreage needed to compost 3,500 yd³. A buffer area to surround the compost pad
will need to be added to this acreage.
IDEM composting requirements. Composting facilities are required
by state law to register with the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management. Each registration is valid for five years, and can be renewed
by submitting an updated registration form to IDEM 60-days prior to
expiration.
There is no fee for registration or for renewal. Composting operations
that process less than 2,000 pounds (1 ton) of vegetative matter during a
year are exempt from these registration requirements.
The final section of this white paper is a copy of IDEM’s guidance
documents for the design of yard waste composting facilities. Further
question on the registration process should be submitted to Debby Baker,
Office of Land Quality. Debby Baker. Phone: (317) 232-0066 or E-mail:
dbaker@idem.IN.gov
Facility operators must also submit an annual report to IDEM. The
Composting Facility Annual Report indicates the amount of vegetative matter
processed during the previous year, and the final use of the compost.
Reporting began in 1994. Beginning in 1998, composting facilities are now
required to report their intake in tons. If you facility does not have scales the
following conversion table was provided by IDEM and can be utilized:
Cubic Yard to Tons Conversion (# Cubic Yards / Ton)
Material Description:
Brush
Brush, Shredded
Cardboard
Food Waste
Grass Clippings
Leaves
Leaves, Shredded
Mixed Yard Waste, Fall
Mixed Yard Waste, Summer
Paper
Whole wood
Wood, chipped
Loose:
6.67
5.37
6.67
1.30
5.00
10.00
6.70
8.10
5.70
4.00
7.14
4.00
Compacted:
2.20
2.50
5.00
5.71
3.60
2.60
5.88
3.60
Note: Volume-to-weight conversion factors vary widely depending on the composition, moisture
content, and compaction rate of the vegetative matter.