Preemption must rule composting's future if the industry is to find acceptance as a mainstream waste management technology.

1. Preemptive design

2. preemption
noun pre·emp·tion -ˈem(p)-shən
an act undertaken or intended to
deter or prevent an anticipated
(usually unpleasant) situation or
occurrence, marked by the seizing
of the initiative

3. There’s a big
difference between
prevention and
preemption.

4. Prevention is picking up a banana
peel before someone slips.

5. Preemption is not buying the
banana in the first place.

6. For cities, preemptive design = building
codes that anticipate disasters.

7. For landscape architects,
preemptive design = “resilient”
landscapes that mitigate risks.

8. For composting
facilities, it’s making
sure what can go
wrong won’t go wrong.

9. Preemptive design
goes beyond
preparedness to
radically diminish
negative impacts
before they occur.

10. The future is bringing...

11. more
people, waste, urban sprawl

12. less
tolerance for open-air
composting facilities

13. TIGHTER

14. Preemptive design
mitigates risks that can
cripple a composting
operation:

15. leachate
and untreated runoff

16. pests

17. failed lab tests

18. weather
impacts

19. odor

20. Which lead to ...

21. complaints,

22. fines,

23. and
lawyers.

24. 100s of hours and
1,000s of dollars
wasted on issues that
can be avoided.

25. The world wants to support
composting

27. many operations cannot
manage the most
challenging organic
streams in a manner that is
acceptable to the public,
regulators, and customers.

28. To mitigate risks and
manufacture a quality product,
putrescibles require:
• High-rate processes
• Secure, controlled
processing environments
• Trained, experienced facility
managers

29. and a recognition and acceptance of the
fact that regulations are a starting point,
not the end goal.
REGULATIONS
MODERN
COMPOSTING

30. Modern waste management no longer
dumps garbage into unlined landfills...

31. or spews untreated sewage into
rivers and bays.

32. But composting is still stuck in the
old century.

33. Society, the environment and the
industry would be better served by
the proliferation of fast, robust
composting technologies.

34. To remain competitive,
composting must
modernize with ...

35. advanced technologies to accelerate
processing and reduce facility
footprints,

36. encapsulated processing and
biofiltration to eliminate leachate
and neutralize odors,

37. high-quality compost products
that can be safely used by anyone,
anywhere, and

38. professional
marketing
programs
moving
products
out to
high-value
markets.

39. Failure to keep pace could doom
composting to the realm of
obsolescence before it ever
realizes its full potential
as a mainstream waste
management
technology.

40. To stand side-by-side with the
big boys, as an industry,
we must first ...

41. invest in new technologies that can
handle all organics,

42. embrace higher
standards than currently
required by regulations,

43. reduce our own
environmental footprint,

44. and make operations “invisible”
to sensitive receptors:

45. • Site in areas zoned for heavy industry
• Build high berms and vegetated buffers
• Increase distances from active work zones
to residences
• Establish truck routes that avoid sensitive
neighborhoods
• Process and cure under roof
• Use biofilters and other active odor controls
• Stop generating leachate

46. What do we get
for this investment?

47. • Freedom from nuisance complaints
and regulatory fines
• Process predictability
• Dependable service for customers
• A healthy revenue stream from
compost sales
• A more profitable operation
• Long-term economic stability

48. In short ...

49. a future.

50. Preemptive design

51. Find more titles related
to this topic here.
CREDITS
Production costs for this title were underwritten by McGill.
Its use is permitted for educational purposes if presented
in its entirety and without editing or other alteration.
©McGill Environmental Systems of N.C. Inc. Questions?
Call McGill HQ at 919-362-1161 or use a contact form at
www.mcgillcompost.com.