Prince George’s County, MD - Organics Composting Facility

PGC put the SG MOBILE® to the test, then expanded to SG BUNKER® Systems

In 2013, Prince George’s County was in need of a composting solution that was capable of composting food waste as well as green waste.

Ownership: Maryland Environmental Service

Location: Upper Marlboro, MD

Start-Up: 2013 / Full Scale Expansion 2018

Product: SG MOBILE® System with GORE® Cover & SG BUNKER® System with GORE® Cover

Input quantity: 12,000 TPY / 57,000 TPY

No. of Heaps: 8 Heaps, 6 covered, 82 ft. x 26 ft. x 12 ft. each + 12 SG Bunkers®

Treatment Time: 8 weeks in 3 phases

Aeration: Above Ground

Control Parameters: Oxygen Control Mode

Input material: Source Separated Organics / Yard Waste

Equipment: Pre-Treatment (Grinders) / Front-end-loaders / Mobile Screen

End Product: High Quality Finished Compost: LeafGro Gold®

Pilot Scale Demonstration Project

Prince George’s County implemented a SG Mobile® System with GORE® Covers (covered aerated static pile) Pilot-Scale Demonstration Project in 2013 as a way to test the following:

Of significant importance to the Pilot-Scale Demonstration Project was that the 8-week SG Mobile® System with GORE® Covers process outperformed the existing 8-month windrow turning process for quality, time to manufacture and performance.

In addition, the demonstration validated Prince George’s County’s ability to compost food waste at mix levels up to 50% resulting in a quality product manufactured within quality specifications with positive results for odor control. Finally, the demonstration project validated positive results for operational modeling and ability.

The SG MOBILE® & SG BUNKER® Systems at Prince George's County Compost Facility

A Solution That Scales At The Right Pace

Prior to the demonstration project, Prince George’s County was composting only green waste, no food waste.

Year 2 – Post Pilot-Scale Demonstration Project – Prince George’s County continued to utilize the SG Mobile® System with GORE® Covers for one year in a batch processing operating model to meet the demand of the food waste haulers who had come to rely on the facility as a necessary food waste recycling facility and destination point for their food waste materials.

Year 3 – Prince George’s County expanded the operation adding one more SG Mobile® unit and phase III heap so they could transition the operation to a continuous manufacturing model.

Year 4 – Prince George’s County expanded the operation by adding 4 more SG Mobile® units to meet the continuing demand for food waste disposal, making the operation a 12,000 TPY facility configured with SG Mobile® units.

Today – full scale – with the addition of the 12 SG Bunker® Systems with GORE® Covers, the facility, with in-ground trenching for leachate capture and re-use to help protect the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, is a 57,000 TPY full scale organics composting facility.