1 / 18

Landscape Waste & Composting Nuts, Bolts, & Other Tidbits November 1, 2018

This article explores the land application of landscape waste, food scrap composting, wood mulching, and the legal definitions and regulations surrounding leaf mulch. It also addresses questions and interpretations regarding waste management.

ddipietro
Download Presentation

Landscape Waste & Composting Nuts, Bolts, & Other Tidbits November 1, 2018

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Landscape Waste & CompostingNuts, Bolts, & Other TidbitsNovember 1, 2018 Derek Rompot Illinois EPA

  2. Derek Rompot Illinois Environmental Protection Agency 217-524-3262 derek.rompot@illinois.gov

  3. Today’s Topics • Land Application • Food Scrap Composting – Recent Conversations • Wood Mulch • “Leaf Mulch”

  4. Definition of Landscape Waste • Section 3.270 of the Act • All accumulations of grass or shrubbery cuttings, leaves, tree limbs and other materials accumulated as the result of the care of lawns, shrubbery, vines and trees

  5. Land Application of Landscape Waste • Allowed under 21(q)(2) of the Act • Application of landscape waste and/or compost at agronomic rates • By definition, agronomic rate is 20 tons/acre/year • Approximately a ¾” layer of materail

  6. Land Application of Landscape Waste • Pollution Control Board to approve application at higher rates • 21(q)(2) does not address allowable storage times of material prior to land application • Permit required to store material prior to land application

  7. Food Scrap Composting • Not much new • Lots of landscaper waste composters permitted to allow food scrap composting • Minimal amount of food scrap being received composted

  8. Food Scrap Composting • Multiple recent conversations • In Vessel Composting • Partnering with food manufactures to compost off-spec food products • No post consumer food scrap received • Several discussions, no permit applications yet

  9. Wood Mulching • Illinois EPA allows the slanging of clean, uncontaminated clean woody material, and sizing (shredding) into mulch without a permit • Materials may include pallets, wood scrap from lumber mills, and trees • Illinois EPA can address problem sites via speculative accumulation and littering

  10. Wood Mulching • Clean, uncontaminated woody materials may be salvaged from landscape waste • Branches 2” in diameter or larger • Tree trunks • No Leaves

  11. Leaf Mulch • Same principle as wood mulch • Get material, size, sell and apply • Legitimate Product? • Historically not commonly used in Illinois, use increasing in recent years • Not Regulatory defined/addressed in Act

  12. Leaf Mulch • Problem: Definition of landscape waste • All accumulations of grass or shrubbery cuttings, leaves, tree limbs and other materials accumulated as the result of the care of lawns, shrubbery, vines and trees • Pile of leaves is an accumulation of leaves, is landscape waste by definition

  13. Kramer Tree Service • Kramer Tree Service • Illinois Pollution Control Board • AS14-2 • Adjusted Standard for 830 (Landscape waste Composting); relief from finished compost standards • Why regulated as a composter?

  14. Kramer Tree • Decision August 12, 2014 • Order: Leaf Mulching is not composting and is not to be regulated as such (heavily paraphrased)

  15. Leaf Mulch • How to regulate “Leaf Mulch” • Illinois EPA believes 35 IAC Part 807 – Solid Waste regulations apply and permit is needed • No exemption from the definition of pollution control facility (Section 3.330 of the Act) for leaf mulch operations, so local siting review (Section 39.2 of the Act) applies. • Regulated Community disagrees

  16. Leaf Mulch • American Tree Service (PCB 94-43) • Definition of “waste” includes all other specifically denied wastes • Alternate Fuels (Supreme Court of Illinois No. 90671, 10/21/04) • Discussion of when a “waste” is discarded

  17. Definition of Waste • Section 3.535 of the act defines “Waste” as any garbage, sludge from a waste water treatment plant, or air pollution control facility, or other discarded material…. • Note the terminology “other discarded material”

  18. Questions/Further Legal Interpretations • Per American Tree, “landscape waste” is a subset of “waste”; is does landscape waste have to be “discarded” or does the definition of landscape waste (any accumulation) apply? • If landscape waste must be discarded, how does the Alternate Fuels ruling apply?

More Related