Annual Report2009/2010

Edmonton Waste Management Centre of ExcellenceSite 310, 13111 Meridian StreetEdmonton, AlbertaTelephone: 780.496.7316Fax: 780.496.7316Email: www.ewmce.com

Edmonton Waste Management Center of Excellence

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Governance & ManagmentPage 6-7

StaffPage 8-9

Marketing & CommunicationPage 10-12

ResearchPage 13-16

AdvisoryServicesPage 17-19

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Message fromExecutive Manager

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ContentsTable of

Technology Development

Education & Training

Outlook for 2009 – 2010

Auditors’ Report

Summarized Financial Statements

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Page 22-24

Page 25-26

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Page 28-29

Executive Manager

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Composting of Coated and Manufactured Wood Products: Testing the effects of wood products like particle board, plywood, and fiberboard on composting processes and final product quality.

Landfill Greenhouse Gas Measurement Tech-nologies:Comparison of remote and ground-based tech-nologies for measurement of emissions of green-house gasses such as methane from large-scale areas such as landfills, compost piles, and lagoons.

Effects of Compost Maturity on Biofilter Perfor-manceEvaluation of factors such as maturity and stability that affect the use of compost for methane-oxidiz-ing biofilters.

Use of Compost and Biochar for Green Roof Covers An experimental trial to assess the potential of compost and biochar as light-weight materials for use in green-roof cover mixtures

InitiatedComposting of Infected Tree Waste: A research project aimed at establishing protocols for composting diseased tree waste to prevent the spread of fungal pathogens.

Tire Shred Clogging in Landfill Drainage Layers:A multi-phase study to examine current knowledge of the performance of tire shred leachate drainage layers, and to experimentally evaluate the perfor-mance of tire shred material in Alberta landfills.

Temperature Contact Time and Human Patho-gen Inactivation:This study will examine the actual temperature conditions over time experienced by representa-tive particles of compost in full-scale composting systems, and measure the impact on a variety of human pathogens and indicator organisms.

CurrentIt is a pleasure to present the 2008-09 Annual Report of the Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence. This report provides details of the continued success of Centre activities, reach and influence. In its sixth year of operations, the Centre is still a hub for growth and change. To manage the influx of our diverse project activities, a new orga-nizational structure was created. Based on our four program areas, each sector is now being led by a fulltime manager rather than a committee. This new transition has already proven to be successful by allowing greater continuity, flexibility, and follow through on new initiatives. The early part of this year pre-sented some challenges for the Centre with staff transitions. However, we have been most fortunate to hire a team of talented individu-als who will execute and deliver outstanding services.

The Centre’s reputation continues to grow, both locally and internationally. This recogni-tion was enhanced by the success of our May

2008 conference ‘Waste – The Social Context 08’. Participants from around the world were in attendance, which led to the collaborativelinkages with groups in Mexico and Uganda. In addition, a number of team members attend-ed national and international conferenceson waste related themes. A common observa-tion among our group was the Centre’s Mem-bers have established a collection of facilities and systems that are world class. The poten-tial to build on each of our program areas is enormous and very exciting.

With regard to facilities, an important change occurred in March, the transfer of the Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant from the City of Edmonton to EPCOR Water Services. Since both organizations are Members of the Cen-tre, the impact on our operations is expected to be minimal. Nevertheless, the degree of support demonstrated during the transfer has been most welcome and appreciated.

Once again, the Centre has been the benefi-

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Message from the

ciary of a prodigious amount of volunteer time and effort from people in our Member and Stakeholder organizations. These encom-pass Board Members and Committee Mem-bers, and of course administrative staff that have helped in a myriad of ways. To all these individuals, we would like to extend our genu-ine thanks.

Sincerely,Jerry Leonard

Research:

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Composting of Coated and Manufactured Wood ProductsTesting the effects of wood products like particle board, plywood, and fiberboard on composting processes and final product quality.

Landfill Greenhouse Gas Measurement TechnologiesComparison of remote and ground-based tech-nologies for measurement of emissions of green-house gasses such as methane from large-scale areas such as landfills, compost piles, and lagoons.

Effects of Compost Maturity on Biofilter PerformanceEvaluation of factors such as maturity and stability that affect the use of compost for methane-oxidiz-ing biofilters.

Use of Compost and Biochar for Green Roof Covers An experimental trial to assess the potential of compost and biochar as light-weight materials for use in green-roof cover mixtures

Solid Waste ProjectsInitiated

Composting of Infected Tree Waste A research project aimed at establishing protocols for composting diseased tree waste to prevent the spread of fungal pathogens.

Tire Shred Clogging in Landfill Drainage Layers A multi-phase study to examine current knowledge of the performance of tire shred leachate drainage layers, and to experimentally evaluate the perfor-mance of tire shred material in Alberta landfills.

Temperature Contact Time and Human Pathogen InactivationThis study will examine the actual temperature conditions over time experienced by representa-tive particles of compost in full-scale composting systems, and measure the impact on a variety of human pathogens and indicator organisms.

CurrentStreet Sand Recycling A project to clean and recycle street sand for reuse, including removal of salt from the washwater.

Pathway of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Generation in Compost A study of CO production in the enclosed co-com-posting facility at the Edmonton Waste Manage-ment Centre, aimed at developing practical strate-gies to limit CO emissions to safe levels.

Municipal Compost Upgrading An evaluation of methods to separate glass and plastics from compost, and investigation of the physics involved in these technologies.

Drywall Waste Management A multi-phase study with a life-cycle approach to drywall waste management. The current phase of the project involved composting drywall with biosolids, and evaluating the resulting compost for land reclamation.

CompletedImpact of Pretreatment on Compost QualityA Focus on Trace Metals, Phase III – Research on the potential sources of metals from municipal solid wastes, and the rates and mechanisms of transfer of metals into the final compost by processes like corrosion.

Landfill Evaluation of Alum Sludge A study to determine beneficial disposal options for alum sludge residuals from drinking water treatment plants, such as use as a landfill cover material or as a compost additive

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Research:

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Wastewater ProjectsInitiatedUsing In-Pipe Microorganisms to Control Wastewater ContaminantsEvaluating the potential for microbially-enhanced removal of endocrine-disrupting compounds from wastewater in collection systems and treatment plants.

Options to Address Emerging Contaminants A comprehensive study of the removal of micropol-lutants such as endocrine-disrupting compounds in wastewater treatment plants, assessing the efficacy of current WWTP processes, and optimize them for maximum removal.

Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Wastewater Treatment PlantsDetermining the emissions of the nitrous oxide from the nitrification process at WWTP, evaluating the biological sources of this important greenhouse gas, and engineering solutions to minimize emissions.

WERF Co-digestion Study Exploration of the potential to add organic waste products such as greases and oils to wastewater solids for biogas production, at a pilot scale.

Calibration of Activated Sludge Model Modification and recalibration of the “Hydroman-tis” sludge model, a software program designed for the modeling and simulation of municipal waste-water treatment plants.

Secondary Clarifier Research Study Investigation of the design of secondary clarifiers at the Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant and ways to improve their performance with the use of computational fluid dynamics.

Aerated Grit Chamber Study Study of the aerated grit chambers at the Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant, and investigating ways of improving their removal efficiencies with the use of laser measurement techniques and fluid dynamics.

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