One of the most advanced composting operations in California is scaling up its operations in Fresno County. Early in 2017, Mid Valley Disposal is opening its new 10-acre, 68,000 square foot composting facility in Kerman, California. In addition to creating 47 new jobs in California’s agricultural heartland, the project serves as a model of sustainability in California’s innovative fight against climate change.
The infrastructure project got off the ground with the help of a $3 million grant thanks to California Climate Investments. Mid Valley expects its new facility to divert 290,000 tons of organic waste from Central Valley landfills over the next decade and reduce GHG emissions by over 137,000 MTCO2e in the process.
Compost produced through this project provides multiple benefits for both the environment and the economy. When sent to landfills, organic waste decomposes and generates methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Compost use provides a simple, proven way to build carbon content and hold more water in soils, which is essential for building climate resilience in our communities and to protect California agriculture from a hotter, drier future.
Much of the food and green waste needed to supply the new facility comes through Mid Valley’s new commercial organics recycling program in Fresno and Madera counties.
“On a traditional windrow system, composting takes 90 days. [With the new facility,] we can get finished compost in eight weeks,” Joseph Kalpakoff, General Manager of Mid Valley Disposal, told the Fresno Business Journal.
Mid Valley’s new composting facility uses GORE composting technology to cover the site’s 16 composting bunkers. The Gore-Tex material allows the piles to breathe but does not allow larger, potentially polluting organic molecules to escape.
This technologically-advanced facility meets all emission requirements established by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and exceeds requirements by the State Water Board to capture storm water.