David Goldstein
Agromin was granted a permit by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors last week for commercial-scale composting at the Limoneira Farm in Santa Paula. Although this may seem like a response to the recent start of residential curbside food scrap recycling across Ventura County, it is actually six years since the state legislation required food recycling.
Agromins expanded operation won’t likely be able to accept food scraps for at least two years, which is more important for urgent composting needs in the county. Six buildings will be constructed, five wastewater treatment systems will be installed, as well as road and access improvements. Other preparations for the transition are time-consuming and costly.
Agromins’ 15-acre farm produces compost and mulch for the farm. The company will be able to compost food scraps and make compost for commercial sales with this expansion.
Ventura County has five other organics processing locations. None of them can compost food scraps. These include the Simi Valley Landfill Agromins, which receives and transfers approximately 100,000 tons to other locations; Ormond Beach Agromins compost operation, which composts about 50,000 tons annually; Peach Hill Soils, near Moorpark, which composts nearly 20,000 tons each year; American Soil Amendment Products, near Simi Valley, which composts over 4,000 tons per annum; and Ojai Valley Sanitary Distric, which composts less than 200 tons each year.
Ventura County could need more than half a million tonnes of composting capacity annually to make mulch and compost, even if it doesn’t count sewage sludge. Even the 300,000 ton capacity that will be available through the new Limoneira project won’t be enough.
Agromin will open its Mountain View Food Waste Processing Facility, Oxnard, this year. Facility planners plan to mash over 100,000 tonnes of residential and commercial food scrap, and send it to other places to be used in animal feed, bioenergy, compost, and other uses. However, a large portion of this incoming volume will be made up of commercial loads from nearby counties. It is difficult to make animal feed from residential food scraps. This facility will provide some additional local capacity, but it will also require new capacity for composting, as the facility will need to transfer material collected there that isn’t suitable for animal food.
Ventura County’s compost needs are not being met by Limoneira’s expansion. However, another aspect of last week’s board of supervisors decision is significant. Before the board’s action, commercial composting was not allowed to be used on prime agricultural soils. To allow the composting project at Limoneira to proceed, a zoning change had to be approved. The board approved the conversion of up to 200 acres of similar agricultural land throughout the county, rather than allowing the conversion of 70 acres.
Rondi Guthrie vice president of government affairs said that Athens Services, which could be considered a competitor of Agromins parent firm Harrison Industries has been researching potential sites for composting within Ventura County. Athens Services is a company that recycles organics from Thousand Oaks or Santa Paula. It may be a beneficiary to the zoning amendment approved last week.
The development of local compost facilities can reduce pollution and help to minimize the potential rise in rates for managing the new stream of rotting materials. Local facilities will make compost, mulch and other materials more readily available to local residents. The Limoneira project must provide at least 60% of the compost produced to agricultural users.
Ventura County will see companies invest millions of dollars to improve the environmental quality by better managing organic wastes. These plans are dependent on us recycling our food scraps, lumber, and yard clippings.
David Goldstein, Ventura County Environmental Resource Analyst, can be reached at 805-658-4312 [email protected].
