Organics Composting Facility

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The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) is entering the next phase of public engagement on the construction of a composting facility at 1313 Greyback Mountain Road, adjacent to the Campbell Mountain Landfill (CMLF).

The RDOS is seeking to rezone the property in order to permit the construction of a composting facility at the site.



Open House: Organics Composting Facility
The RDOS invited residents and other interested parties to attend an Organics Composting Facility open house event on October 4, 2023.

Attendees were invited to ask questions and provide feedback on the project.

Please click here to view the Open House Exit Survey results.

The City of Penticton has committed to replacing its existing wastewater solids composting operation at Campbell Mountain. The RDOS is partnering with the City for an opportunity to build a facility that can compost wastewater solids as well as food and yard waste organics.

Food waste and other organic materials account for approximately 40% of waste entering landfills in the Regional District by weight, and the RDOS Solid Waste Management Plan has identified composting as one of the best means to divert waste entering local Landfills.

The new operation would be designed to accommodate up to 35,000 tonnes of organic materials per year and would include odour controls and paving the site to contain leachate. The proposal to locate the composting operation east of the CMLF at a site currently located within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) was rejected by the ALC. As a result, the new facility will be limited to food, yard, and agricultural waste composting on the portions of the property that are not within the ALR or Phase 1. The RDOS intends to apply to the ALC for non-farm use on the remaining portions of the property in order to replace the City of Penticton’s existing biosolids composting facility. This will be a future phase of the project should the ALC permit the same, Phase 2.

Residents of the current Campbell Mountain Service Area (includes all or parts of Electoral Areas "B", "D", "E", "F", "G", and "I", the City of Penticton and the Village of Keremeos) were invited to provide feedback at the electronic public information meeting on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

The RDOS hosted an electronic town hall on September 30, 2020. The meeting provided an opportunity to learn more about the organics composting facility and ask questions. You can watch the meeting on the RDOS YouTube Channel.

Please see the News Feed below for a list of questions and answers from the September 30, 2020, electronic town hall meeting.

Register to receive updates and participate in the discussion.

Proposed Organics Composting Site

Wastewater Solids Composting Operation


The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) is entering the next phase of public engagement on the construction of a composting facility at 1313 Greyback Mountain Road, adjacent to the Campbell Mountain Landfill (CMLF).

The RDOS is seeking to rezone the property in order to permit the construction of a composting facility at the site.



Open House: Organics Composting Facility
The RDOS invited residents and other interested parties to attend an Organics Composting Facility open house event on October 4, 2023.

Attendees were invited to ask questions and provide feedback on the project.

Please click here to view the Open House Exit Survey results.

The City of Penticton has committed to replacing its existing wastewater solids composting operation at Campbell Mountain. The RDOS is partnering with the City for an opportunity to build a facility that can compost wastewater solids as well as food and yard waste organics.

Food waste and other organic materials account for approximately 40% of waste entering landfills in the Regional District by weight, and the RDOS Solid Waste Management Plan has identified composting as one of the best means to divert waste entering local Landfills.

The new operation would be designed to accommodate up to 35,000 tonnes of organic materials per year and would include odour controls and paving the site to contain leachate. The proposal to locate the composting operation east of the CMLF at a site currently located within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) was rejected by the ALC. As a result, the new facility will be limited to food, yard, and agricultural waste composting on the portions of the property that are not within the ALR or Phase 1. The RDOS intends to apply to the ALC for non-farm use on the remaining portions of the property in order to replace the City of Penticton’s existing biosolids composting facility. This will be a future phase of the project should the ALC permit the same, Phase 2.

Residents of the current Campbell Mountain Service Area (includes all or parts of Electoral Areas "B", "D", "E", "F", "G", and "I", the City of Penticton and the Village of Keremeos) were invited to provide feedback at the electronic public information meeting on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

The RDOS hosted an electronic town hall on September 30, 2020. The meeting provided an opportunity to learn more about the organics composting facility and ask questions. You can watch the meeting on the RDOS YouTube Channel.

Please see the News Feed below for a list of questions and answers from the September 30, 2020, electronic town hall meeting.

Register to receive updates and participate in the discussion.

Proposed Organics Composting Site

Wastewater Solids Composting Operation


  • Organics composting facility public engagement

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    PentictonNow online article

    The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen is gathering feedback regarding the proposed organics composting facility at Campbell Mountain Landfill.

  • Sept. 30, 2020 Electronic Town Hall Q&A

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    What amount of methane is expected from the composting site?

    Properly operated composting sites do not generate methane. Composting uses oxygen to speed up the decomposition process. Composting does not allow for the creation of methane by aerating the materials being composted.

    Methane is created naturally when organic matter is stored in water without access to oxygen. This happens in landfills where food waste is buried underground and no oxygen is available. There are also specially designed digesters that can create methane. Digesters trap the methane, allowing it to be used like natural gas for heating or electrical production.

    Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. Landfills are a major source of methane in Canada. The Campbell Mountain Landfill is estimated to generate more than 1,000 tonnes of methane each year. This makes it one of the largest point sources of methane in the RDOS. The development of a food waste composting site at the Campbell Mountain Landfill will significantly reduce methane emissions in the RDOS by removing food waste from the landfill and composting it.

    What is the amount of material being currently being processed at the City of Penticton Wastewater Solids Composting facility? What are the expected annual amounts of materials to be composted at the facility?

    Table 3-5 explains the estimated current and future feedstocks that are available for the composting sites. The ‘Biosolids’ estimate below is ‘dry tonnes’ of wastewater treatment solids. This is the estimated weight of solids without water. The ‘wet tonnes’, meaning the solids mixed with water brought to the compost site, is estimated at ~8000 tonnes. Wet tonnes refers to the weight at the scale when the solids are still wet.

    Is there a provincial or local requirement to have an odour or discharge permit?

    Composting sites in BC are regulated under the Organic Matter Recycling Regulation (OMRR) and BC does not require an additional odour or discharge permit. OMRR requires a compost site have an odour management plan to ensure nuisances are minimized. The RDOS does not issue Air Discharge permits.

  • Federation of Canadian Municipalities Recognizes RDOS Compost Feasibility Project

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    https://cms.rdos.bc.ca/assets/Information-Releases/20200930-FCM-Organics-Info-Release.pdf

  • Composting Facility Information Release

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    The RDOS is gathering feedback about the proposed organics composting facility at CMLF. The results will be submitted to the RDOS board for consideration as part of an application to the Agricultural Land Commission.