XACT Composting System in Alaska “Runs on Cruise Control”

Back in 2009, Alaska Waste Company had wanted to divert  450 to 500 tons of organic materials from the landfill and looked at the possibility of windrow and static pile composting.  However, the company did not have the space for these methods and the throughput would be too slow anyway.  Then Alaska Waste investigated in-vessel composting methods and came upon the rotating drum BioReactor technology by XACT Systems.  The BioReactor has a tiny footprint and tremendous throughput capacity.  It was a good fit for Alaska Waste’s needs, so they purchased a 10’ diameter by 30’ long vessel.

Once all the installation and recipe tweeking had taken place, the system nearly runs itself.  There is only one operator who works a total of 3 to 4 hours a day with the entire composting system (including loading, unloading and clean up).  There is minimal maintenance, and the energy requirements are so low because the 10’ x 30’ drum is being driven by only a 5 hp motor.  As an added bonus, the heat off the BioReactor helps heat the building!

Jeff Jessen, the Renewable Resources Program Administrator, says, “the XACT composting system runs on Cruise  Control now…it runs so well and it couldn’t be  easier to operate.”

Alaska Green Waste Solutions sells the compost to a local nursery for $50.00 a cubic yard.  The nursery cures it for a couple of weeks, blends it and uses it for landscaping at housing projects, erosion control for large projects, and as a medium for compost socks.  “They cannot get enough of our compost” Jeff reports.