ARTHUR – “As far as I know, we are the only facility in North America that can take residential waste, compost it, and put it in a bag.”
Geoff Boyd, VP of resource recovery for Walker Industries, made that statement during the June 7 grand opening and tour of the company’s $43-million expansion at its Arthur composting facility, formerly known as All Treat Farms.
The expansion includes a $25-million boost to its composting infrastructure as well as an $18-million packaging facility officials say will allow the company to better recover over 170,000 tonnes of organic material and turn it into high-quality compost and soil each year.
Walker Industries president and CEO Geordie Walker said this will “really strengthen the circular economy across the province and represents a significant step towards Walker’s goal of increasing our recovery of valuable waste material to get to a total of 1.5 million tonnes recovered by 2027.”
Walker employee Diana Aquino described how 32 Gore composting cells utilize a semi-permeable membrane system to cover the composting materials, creating a controlled environment.
This helps to increase the quality of the product and to decrease odours, plus it lessens greenhouse gas emissions, she explained.
Now doubled to 64, the composting cells will allow “thousands of tonnes of leaves, yard clippings, material from municipal anaerobic digestors, and food waste from the public and private sector to be transformed into compost each year,” said Aquino.
She added Walker supplies “up to 7 million bags of soil and mulch to retailers annually, nationwide”.
Boyd pointed out the “mountain” of compost that has been visible on the site for many years is “getting smaller and should be gone in about two years”.
In reference to odours from the facility, he said, “The weather does weird things to the composting process.
“It might not smell when you’re standing next to it, but it can smell a kilometre away. It can go straight up and drop somewhere else, so that’s why we have people driving around. If you do smell it, please call us because that allows us to make changes. We need that feedback”.
Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae was on hand to congratulate the company on “a historical investment” and thanked them for “continuing to invest in Wellington County and Wellington North, ensuring local jobs”.
“Circular economy is going to be key in the 21st century,” said Rae. “This will allow us to be better stewards of the land that we all are inheriting for the next generation and for generations to come”.
While addressing the crowd, Wellington North Mayor and Wellington County Warden Andy Lennox, congratulated Walker on behalf of both councils.
“Arthur is a unique facility,” he said. “People can see their green bin waste come here, and then they can go to the store and buy the products that are produced right here.”
Lennox added, “Here in Wellington County in particular, we have diverted a significant amount of waste in organics to this facility, which has helped to extend the life of our landfill site, which is good for everybody. It’s way better to reuse these products than it is to bury them in the ground.”
Walker Industries business operations manager Adam Egan said, “with every investment, we’ve improved efficiency. It’s not just adding to the volume of material we compost, but we’ve improved efficiencies along the way – carbon footprint, fuel consumption – all the things that save us money to be honest, but also, it’s a win-win for the environment”.
Asked about new jobs, Egan speculated that “we’ll have a better idea of how many new jobs will be created in about two months. Generally, we are an excellent provider of middle-class jobs. We’ll be looking for skilled trades like diesel mechanics and millwrights. Most of the trades we use come from this area”.
Egan went on to say “When people come here, we invest in them, and they stay here … plus I can’t speak highly enough about both the support that we have received from the local community, and the local government”.
Following speeches, guests were taken on a bus tour of the 130-acre property while Walker employee Bruce Voisin pointed out how the compost system works.
Each batch takes eight weeks to compost and is monitored by a computer system that helps to control the process, which leads to increased performance and decreased odour production.
Voisin also explained that since the process utilizes a large amount of water, rainwater is collected and reused.
Guests also toured the new $18-million packaging facility. According to Walker employee Trish Hoffele, the two new mechanized packaging lines will process 80,000 pallets of heavy soils annually, with each pallet containing 90 to 120 bags of soil.
The new facility allows for future development and has space for a third line.
“We are very proud of what we do here and proud of being a big part of the Arthur and Wellington County community,” Boyd stated in his closing remarks.
“The hard work and dedication of all the staff who work here has helped us work our way through many challenges.
“We are set up for decades of future success, helping to protect our climate and our environment, and our valuable peatlands. I’m very proud of that.”