聽Grupo Puntacana聽recently began operations of a new on-site, large-scale composting system that will process food waste from the community鈥檚 2000+ residences, multiple hotels, golf courses, restaurants and the country鈥檚 largest international airport.
The聽Earth Flow composting system聽is automated & enclosed to capture odors and rapidly transform food waste and other feedstocks like yard waste into valuable compost products that will be used on the resort grounds and gardens.聽Annual processing capacity for the聽Earth Flow composting system is planned to range between 1400 to 3000 metric tons per year, significantly reducing the environmental and economic costs of hauling food waste to a landfill.
鈥淕rupo Puntacana has a long history of investing in environmental sustainability for our resort, but this new Earth Flow composting system is a major evolution in our commitment to becoming a Zero Waste community,鈥� said Jake Kheel, Vice President of Sustainability for Grupo Puntacana. 鈥淭his is the first major resort in the Dominican Republic to be fully committed to composting our food waste and yard waste on site, eliminating all the environmental and financial costs of transporting this waste to the landfill.鈥�
On-site composting of food waste on a resort property is challenging with conventional methods, because of odors, space requirements and operational concerns. The Earth Flow composting system is unique in that the composting process is fully enclosed and automated.
The composting material is aerated through special channels in the floor, while an industrial stainless-steel auger continually mixes the material. Proper oxygen levels are maintained at all times to speed up the composting process and minimize odors. Exhaust air from the system is vented into a simple biofilter to capture any remaining odors.
鈥淲e hope to achieve a total landfill diversion rate of 70-80% between the Earth Flow, our waste valorization facility (CENVAREE), and efforts throughout the resort to reduce waste,鈥� said Kheel. 鈥淭he Earth Flow is part of a larger, more holistic program. We can now operate compost at the scale of our resort, while allowing us to potentially offer waste valorization as a service to other resorts.鈥�
Food waste and shredded yard waste are simply loaded into one end of the system, and 鈥渞eady to cure鈥� compost is periodically unloaded out of the other end. Material is typically processed in the Earth Flow for two to three weeks, followed by a 6-week curing period before it is ready to be used in agriculture and landscaping.
鈥淭his has been one of the most interesting projects I鈥檝e ever worked on,鈥� said Van Calvez, Project Manager and Engineer from Green Mountain Technologies. 鈥淕rupo Puntacana鈥檚 commitment to sustainability has been inspiring to me, and I think this will inspire many others as well.鈥�
The聽Site Built Earth Flow 7012 composting facility was custom designed to enable growth over time. Secondary bays next to the primary Earth Flow bay can be used for storage of finished compost & wood chips, or these bays can be used as secondary aeration for the composting process. Aeration infrastructure is built into the floors of the Earth Flow bay and the secondary bays. Aeration systems and Earth Flow mixing programs are adjustable through the control system.