Phosphorus Recovery as Key to Industry Leadership in Sustainable Organic Waste Management

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GHD Canada seeks to remain an industry leader in organic waste management and recycling. Organic waste makes up about 40% of all waste in Canada. Less than 10% of this organic waste is recycled; the remainder is buried in landfills or incinerated. This practice is both wasteful and potentially polluting. Organic waste contains valuable non-renewable resources such as phosphorus (P), which is an essential nutrient for plant growth. However, the careless use of P can compromise food security (if mineral fertilizer required for food production becomes unaffordable or unavailable), and can cause aquatic pollution (if excess P is discharged to waterways). As a result, several provinces and municipalities across Canada are moving to regulate organic waste management to encourage recycling and preserve the environment. This study intends to assess urban organic waste management as a solution to the joint issues of phosphorus scarcity and pollution. Cities provide unique opportunities for P management because organic products such as food and the subsequent waste produced from consumption are concentrated there. The research proposed here will use Montreal as a case study to assess how new waste management policies currently proposed across Canada might affect P flows through cities, and how the recycling of municipal organic waste as compost and similar products can conserve nutrients and reduce pollution. GHD Canada has approached McGill University to collaborate on this project. GHD Canada is a division of an international consulting company with a strong investment in environmental engineering and sustainability. McGill's Department of Bioresource Engineering provides GHD with vital expertise in organic waste processing alternatives, nutrient cycling, phosphorus, and urban studies.