An applicant must be at least 18 years of age and have at least one year of full-time operational experience at a composting facility within the past three years.
Certificates of Qualification for Compost Facility Operators issued by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas between September 1999 and December 2009 were based on the classifications of composting facilities defined in the Activities Designation Regulation. As of January 1, 2010, all certificates issued by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas are considered Basic Certificates. The expiry dates of Certificates of Qualification remain unchanged.
Conditional Certificates are issued to facilities that do not have operators that met the requirements for certification. Conditional Certificates are temporary and are not renewable. Operators who hold conditional certificates are required to comply with the timelines outlined in their conditional certificate to obtain Basic Certification.
Conditional Restricted Certificates are "grandfathered" certificates issued prior to September 1, 2001. These certificates are designated with 'CR' preceding the certificate number. Conditional Restricted Certificates were abled to be renewed until December 31st, 2011, remaining valid until the expiry date or until the certificate holder is no longer employed at the specified facility. Upon expiry, the Conditional Restricted Certificate holder must apply for Basic Certification.
Provided that they meet the qualification requirements contained in the guidelines, Facility Managers can apply for Basic Certification.
A manager level certificate is expected to cover competencies that are above and beyond what is required of operators. It is beyond the scope of the current program. It has been recommended that manager level certificates be introduced to the program at a later date.
Provided that the qualification requirements contained in the guidelines are met, Facility Managers or Owners can apply for Basic Certification. If the Manager or Owner does not have the necessary qualifications, it may be possible to obtain a Conditional Certificate.
Applications for Conditional Certificates must be made directly to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas. Please contact, Avin Buntmann of Alberta Environment and Protected Areas at avin.buntmann@gov.ab.ca for conditional certificate application requirements.
Alberta Environment and Protected Areas maintains and updates the question bank from which the exams are prepared. The question bank for composting facilities was developed from competency profiles and occupational analyses and input from a number of operators and stakeholders in Alberta.
Each exam consists of 100 multiple choice questions drawn from the question bank. Questions cover the following critical tasks:
70%
You will generally be notified of your exam results and certification status within six weeks of writing the exam.
The Compost Council of Canada operates its certification programs on a cost-recovery basis. Applicants for certification will be assessed a fee to offset the costs of preparing/marking the examination and administering the program. Fees are also charged for certification renewals. The current fee structure is:
Alberta's Composting Facility Operator Certification Program contains specific information on provincial regulations and requirements that are not covered in the National Compost Operator Certification Program. Therefore, a National Compost Operator Certification from The Compost Council of Canada is not equivalent to a Basic Certification.
In order to renew an existing Basic Certification, the certificate holder must:
Continuing education units are educational classes or experiences that increase the operator's knowledge of practices in landfill and composting operations. For the Alberta Landfill and Composting Facility Operator Certification program, one CEU is defined as 10 contact hours of participation in an organized, relevant continuing education experience as approved by the Solid Waste Certification Advisory Committee (the Advisory Committee).
Alberta Environment and Protected Areas maintains a list of approved training courses and events. this listing is contained in the Alberta Landfill and Composting Facility Operator Certification Program's Continuing Education Unit Policy which is available from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas’ web site.
Failure to promptly renew your certificate will result in that certificate being inactivated. If your certificate expires, you will be required to submit a new application, and may be required to re-qualify and pass a certification exam in order to be re-certified.
Dates and information on certification exam sittings are posted on the Compost Council of Canada's website.
