Gaia EnviroTech is working with local councils across Victoria to provide organic waste management solutions for FOGO (food organics and garden organics). As many local councils begin introducing kerbside FOGO services in line with Victorian Government’s waste and recycling reforms, the capacity for the sustainable and economical processing of this waste and its diversion from landfill, is now a high priority. This is a critical area in the achievement of key climate change targets across the community, as the effective treatment of FOGO contributes towards reduced greenhouse gas emissions through diverting organic waste from landfill, which is estimated to save approximately 1 tonne of CO2 entering the atmosphere for every 1 tonne of organic waste diverted.
Modular in design, the Gaia EnviroTech Rapid Composter is flexible, efficient, and aims to treat organic waste as close to source as possible, which reduces the ‘waste miles’ required to transport material long distances. Designed and manufactured in Ballarat, Victoria, the system is easily transportable and quick to install on site. Developed specifically for on-site applications, the system is designed with the noise and odour expectations associated with residential settings in mind.
The in-vessel system accelerates the composting process to produce nutrient rich compost from organic matter faster than traditional methods such as windrowing. It is suited to clients whose primary waste streams include FOGO (food organics and garden organics) and larger waste vegetation. The system is designed for ease of use and can be combined with a Gaia EnviroTech Biodigester to treat the majority of organic waste from councils, food manufacturers, restaurants, and hospitality venues that maximises the value that can be realised from the waste streams.
Hepburn Shire Council
A Gaia EnviroTech Rapid Composter was installed for trials by Hepburn Shire Council at their Creswick Transfer Station as part of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning New Energy Job Funds, which was aimed at treating FOGO waste from the Clunes township and providing nutrient rich compost back to the community for their use. Shortly following installation of the Rapid Composter, the unit has demonstrated that it can achieve pasteurisation through creating a controlled environment which kills off pathogens and allows the material to be utilised to re-carbonise soils.
Ararat Rural City Council
More recently, Gaia EnviroTech has been working with Ararat Rural City Council (ARCC), in the installation of a Rapid Composter for the treatment of green waste collected through kerb side collection. ARCC will introduce this collection service in 2022 as part of key circular economy initiatives within the region, with an estimated volume of 1000 tonnes per year to be processed through the system.
Gaia EnviroTech and ARCC will work together on providing opportunities for utilisation of the system outputs from this project (compost) for use in various municipality and community applications.
The approach of working with Hepburn and Ararat in treating the waste as close to the source of generation as possible aims to empower these communities to manage their waste streams effectively and forms a key part of Gaia EnviroTech’s regionally distributed solutions model. The integration of Rapid Composters with centralised Anaerobic Digesters minimises waste miles for the smaller regional councils, while contributing towards and a lower carbon footprint, local jobs and development, and supports the circular economy.
Downloadthe Diary Effluent Case study
The system in this case study was installed in November 2018 as a 12-month research and development project to establish viability of an anaerobic digestion plant designed to convert dairy effluent to energy and minimise odour.
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