Case Study: TAM Organics Compost Materials Management Tool Pilot Bennington, Vermont - November 2014 Written By: James McSweeney Compost Operators: Trevor Mance & Matt Proft Compost System Types: • Food Scrap Collection • Windrow Composting Project Overview: TAM Organics is a new branch of TAM Waste Management, originally founded by Trevor Mance in 1996. In 2013, TAM completed the first phase of its compost operation and food scrap collection program development. Since that time, composting and food scrap diversion has increased dramatically. At the time of this report, TAM Organics had diverted over 600 Tons of food scraps from the landfill, and was offering food scrap collection services throughout the Bennington and Rutland regions. The operation follows best management practices (BMPs) in composting, such as following a target recipe to achieve optimal conditions for thermophilic or “hot” composting. Matt Proft, the manager and operator of the site, closely monitors and manages the composting process to produce a very high quality product. As a relatively new operation, systems are still being built to better understand and optimize production. In fall 2014, TAM Organics piloted the use of a Google-Sheets-based logging system developed by Compost Technical Services (CTS) for efficiently tracking material flow through their operation, which is a critical BMP for operations of their scale. With minor improvements made after the test period, the tool is now available on the web for any operator to replicate and utilize.
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Compost Materials Management Tool 1.1 CTS worked with compost operator Matt Proft to identify the management solutions that would be most valuable to a compost site operator. Permitted compost sites in Vermont, as well as in other states, are required to report annually on the materials processed by their operations, as well as how much compost is sold from their sites. In addition, operations report on the volume of trash exported from the site, and the volume of leachate that was managed both onsite and off-site.
Leachate: liquid containing dissolved, suspended, or miscible materials that passes through or emerges from the active compost area. "Leachate" does not include liquid containing dissolved, suspended, or miscible materials that passes through or emerges from the area where compost is curing, or storage of finished product. Vermont Solid Waste Management Rules
For those not familiar with Google Sheets, it’s a web-based spreadsheet program similar to Microsoft Excel. Compost Materials Management Tool 1.1 is an online spreadsheet, that can be shared with other users and accessed from any device with an internet or cellular data connection and a Google account. A blank version of the tool is publically available on the web. When a new user accesses the file, they can make a private copy for themselves, which they can then fully utilize and share with whomever they choose. There are seven tabs in the spreadsheet, and the first tab walks composters through the use of the other 6 Tabs: • Dashboard • Feedstocks Intake • Production Log • Compost Inventory • Sales Log • Leachate & Waste Log The dashboard outputs useful information from the other five logs, such as the Annual Production Rate, Tons Food Scraps Proccessed, and Gross Compost
Blank Compost Materials Management Tool 1.1 Dashboard.
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Sales Revenues. It also summarizes the annual intake of materials by “feedstock type” and can calculate the Average Cost/Yard, as well as the current volume of materials that are available in inventory.
TAM Organics site under construction. On this date they built their first compost pile with food scraps, leaves, and manure.
In the fall of 2014, TAM Organics used the tool primarilly to log the volume of materials received over the course of the year, since so much of the year had already passed. The State requires that materials be reported by both the material type and the town in which they were generated, so the tool allows the operator to record and then sort by those catagories. Another critical BMP that will be streamlined when the tool goes into full use in 2015 is keeping close track of compost recipes on a weekly basis. The Production Log feature allows the operator to log weekly volumes of food scraps and other feedstocks as they are processed. This log encourages certain BMPs, such as giving compost batches Piles IDs, logging the volumes of specific materials that go into the piles, and noting the sources of the materials used. Taking diligent notes about specific materials sources, such as the name of the farm that generated a particular manure, is critical because, if there is an issue with a compost or feedstock in the future, having a record of the inputs will allow for more precise intervention and targeted resolution. TAM Organics in full production. Photo by TAM Organics
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Ultimately, this tool and others like it offer an easily accessible window into past management activities, which can be a reference for management decisions in the future. Paper recordkeeping is adequate for many smaller operations, and highly preferable to no record-keeping at all, but given TAM’s rapid growth, implementation of an advanced system of tracking materials was timely. Matt Proft has indicated that using the tool has been enjoyable, and as well, he likes seeing the numbers behind the outcomes of his work.
Totes of Food Scraps at a Rutland supermarket that TAM Organics services. Photo by Dean Wilson -‐ RCSWMD.
A view only version of Compost Materials Management Tool 1.1 can be found here: http://goo.gl/7dqsZh To make a copy for your own use, go to File and choose “Make a copy…”.
CTS will continue working with TAM Organics as they implement the full functionality of the tool and will provide updates as needed, so check back in the future to be sure you have the most up to date version. TAM Organics Website: http://tamwasteremoval.com/composting/
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www.CompostTechnicalServices.com
www.highfieldscomposting.org
Acknowledgments This Composter Pilot Project and Case Study was funded in part by a grant from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Working Lands Enterprise Board with the VSWDMA as grantee, and also funded in part by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Solid Waste Program with Highfields Center for Composting as the grantee. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Grantors.
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