Regional Compost Facility
The Regional Compost Facility, located at 551 Commonage Road on the outskirts of Vernon, is a joint operation between the City of Vernon and the City of Kelowna designed to effectively compost wastewater treatment plant biosolid material through an environmentally-friendly and financially-sound process.
Opened in 2006, the facility produces a safe and highly-effective soil conditioner, known as Ogogrow, in accordance with the Waste Management Act’s Organic Matter Recycling Regulations. All Ogogrow sales go directly back to the operation to help ensure the long-term, economic sustainability of the Regional facility.
OgoGrow is available for purchase from the facility between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Facility Upgrades
The City of Kelowna and City of Vernon completed a facility upgrade in 2010 that increases capacity of the site to 36,400 tonnes of biosolids per year and improves the ability to water the piles effectively. In 2013, 27,000 tonnes were processed and 50,000 cubic yards of Ogogrow were produced.
Odour Control Measures
Odours are naturally created in the manufacture of compost and not all odours can be avoided, but they can be controlled and minimized through aeration and properly timed mixing techniques. The City of Kelowna and the City of Vernon have undertaken comprehensive odour studies in the last several years. Specialized equipment has been installed that senses the odour levels and this combined with weather information is used to create a model of the odour intensity. There is an action plan in place to modify activities on site if odour levels rise.
For additional information on our odour control measures, please view the Odour Management Plan.
Contact Us
For more information, call the Compost Information Line at 250 469-8868