An evaluation of the economics and logistics of animal mortality composting for the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Details

• Creators:
  Moruza, Audrey K. ; Donaldson, Bridget M.
• Corporate Creators:
  Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research
• Corporate Contributors:
  Virginia. Dept. of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Wildlife
  • Road kill
  • Compost
  • Cost effectiveness
  • Feasibility analysis
  • Landfills
  • Waste management
  • Case studies
  • Surveys
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/VCTIR 15-R17
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Virginia
• Corporate Publisher:
  Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research
• Abstract:
  Many maintenance facilities of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) face a decreasing availability of the ; conventional methods of animal mortality disposal (i.e., landfills and burial of individual mortalities) and have a need for a viable ; alternative. Others are interested in an alternative means of managing mortality that will save time and labor. Recent studies ; found that static windrow composting and in-vessel forced aeration composting systems are useful and effective means of ; managing animal mortality for VDOT, but more information is needed with regard to their cost and feasibility. ; The purpose of this study was to determine the economic value of implementing a composting program for VDOT. A ; survey was used to gather general information on animal mortality management from VDOT’s area headquarters (AHQs). ; Weekly diaries were also collected from eight AHQs and two VDOT residencies over an 8-month period to gather more detailed ; information regarding their means of mortality management. With the use of these maintenance areas as case studies, cost models ; were developed that determined the costs or savings incurred from replacing the maintenance area’s current means of disposal ; with one of three composting methods: static windrows, a rotary drum, or a forced aeration composting system. ; The study found that even the most expensive composting option currently available to VDOT, the forced air system, is ; cost-effective when there is sufficient mortality volume. Under the assumptions of the cost models, with regard to the AHQs ; evaluated, purchasing and operating the current forced air system and rotary drum can save VDOT up to $54,000 and $36,500, ; respectively, within the lifetime of the vessels. Static windrows are always cost-effective when a free carbon source (i.e., ; woodchips from vegetative debris removal) is available. As a general rule with regard to the cost-effectiveness of composting, the ; start-up costs of the current forced aeration composting system should not exceed 22 times the operational savings from ; composting in the first year and the start-up costs of rotary drum composting should not exceed 14 times the operational savings ; from composting in the first year. ; To maximize the cost-effectiveness of composting, maintenance area superintendents who plan to use composting for ; animal mortality management should try to identify a no-cost carbon source; use finished compost for transportation project ; applications in place of purchasing comparable material; seek other maintenance areas with which to share composting facilities; ; and consider using static windrows whenever possible, including to supplement vessel composting during periods of high ; mortality. In addition, the Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research should pursue the design of a forced air ; system with a smaller capacity and lower construction costs than the one presently in use. This would increase the cost-effectiveness of composting for AHQs that do not have a readily available no-cost carbon source; that have smaller mortality ; volumes; and/or for which pooling of mortality with other AHQs is infeasible. VDOT can save costs by replacing current ; mortality management methods with a composting alternative and adopting supportive business practices.
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• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  105203
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/28868/dot_28868_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 522.39 KB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:04151ed1baa90342400b2d683a715fa73a3a514f9b11c7ad646cf27c8dd99680