Have you ever wondered how organic peat-free compost and soil conditioners are made? It all starts with the collection of green waste from households, gardeners and landscapers, and local authorities – mainly from West Sussex and Surrey – but sometimes further afield too. We take over 100,000 tonnes of green waste each year – diverting it from landfills and preventing the escape of harmful greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Each delivery received at our waste sites in Tangmere and Runcton is carefully weighed and inspected for contamination before being added to our industrial shredder to break down the material into smaller pieces, accelerating the composting process.
Up to 90 tonnes of green waste can be shredded every hour. Each week the material received at our recycling sites is formed into batches – called windrows, which can range from 1000 to 2000 tonnes in size, depending on seasonality and weekly inputs. These huge piles of green waste begin to break down in a totally organic process. For the first 2 weeks, the batches are sanitised where moisture levels are monitored daily and temperatures are maintained at between 65-80°C to ensure all weed seeds and other pathogens are destroyed.
STABILISATION AND SCREENING
After this, the compost goes through a period of stabilisation, where temperatures range from between 45-80°C and moisture content is monitored weekly to ensure the compost is sufficiently breaking down and performing to its optimum.
During its 10–14-week life cycle, the material is turned to introduce oxygen and encourage further biological decomposition. After this, the material is ready for screening. At this point any remaining contaminants are removed – such as plastic, glass, metal, porcelain and stone – and the compost is graded to a size of between 0-20mm.
FINAL QUALITY CHECKS
Once tested at an independent laboratory for the presence of heavy metals, physical contaminants, potentially toxic elements and nutrient content, the 100% recycled compost is given a seal of approval against BSI PAS 100 and the Compost Quality Protocol. It is now ready for delivery to be put to great use in your garden! We offer our compost products in bulk bags which can be ordered online and delivered directly to your home.
EARTH CYCLE
So, if this all sounds good to you, why not order your compost from us today! We deliver kerbside up and down the country, so order yours and start reaping the rewards of our organic, peat-free compost!
If you would like to know more about our process, take a look at our ‘How Clean is your Green’ blog or our blog post on how we make our cow compost.
