Solid Waste Management Best Practices: Cost-effective options to sustainably manage solid waste in the Peace River Regional District

Concerns over climate change have led public and private institutions to change the way they conduct business. Initiatives include ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and working toward a net zero carbon society. Recycling and composting programs have been around for decades, with the goal to reduce the amount of solid waste entering the landfills. The natural decomposition of food and green wastes in landfills results in the emission of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Plastics in the environment find their way into the food chain and even human tissues. Solid waste (SW) diversion is a strategy that reduces landfilling and greenhouse gases, and recovers energy and materials.
The PRRD is located in northeast BC, a distance of 800+ km to major recycling centers. The PRRD is seeking to implement a SW diversion strategy that sees recyclables processed in the region, avoiding long-range transport, with a novel waste to energy plant. The environmental impact must be assessed to determine the economic and environmental feasibility. An economic evaluation has already been performed.
For food wastes, anaerobic digestion (AD) has been selected. The process captures >95% of methane emissions.

Faculty Supervisor:

Hossein Kazemian;Steve Helle

Student:

Partner:

Peace River Regional District

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Public administration

University:

University of Northern British Columbia

Program: