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The Composting Process
The Waste - what it is and where it comes from.
The ingredients that go into making peat free compost include; leaves, grass cuttings, brash and timber. All of which are deposited at our recycling centre by landscapers, gardeners and tree surgeons as well as domestic green waste collections from local authorities. Historically this waste would have been sent to landfill sites, in recycling it we are now considerably reducing landfill demands.
The Process
All our compost is processed under the Composting Association approved BS PAS100 process.
The waste is weighed into our reception centre and any contaminants such as metal and plastics are removed before the material is shredded. The waste is shredded to increase surface area and therefore speed up the composting process.
After shredding the waste is formed into a windrow and assigned a batch number which will stay with that windrow throughout the process. The batch now under goes three stages of composting, the Sanitization phase, the stabilisation phase and the maturation phase. During these phases the compost is closely monitored for temperature and moisture content.
Sanitization Phase
This phase last for two weeks and during this time the material must reach a temperature of between 65 and 80 degrees Centigrade for seven days to meet the strict guidelines of the PAS100 certification. The compost must also be aerated by turning at least twice during this period. Temperature and moisture levels are recorded throughout the batch every day during this phase. This two week period ensures that all pathogens and weed seed is killed off by the extreme heat generated.
Stabilisation
After the first two week Sanitization Phase, the compost enters the Stabilisation Phase, and during this 8 week period the compost is turned a further 6 times to ensure that all the compost is breaking down at the same rate. Temperature and moisture records are taken once per week.
Once the compost has reached the end of this phase it is screened to 28mm and then part of the batch will be screened to 8mm to remove any oversize and un-composted timber etc.
Analysis
The compost is now ready to be sent off to the PAS 100 approved lab for analysis. Only when the results are back and prove clear, will that batch be allowed to be sold and certified as PAS 100 Compliant.
Maturation
Once analysed we allow our compost to matured for a further two to four weeks to ensure product quality, after this time the compost is then ready to be bagged and sold around the country.
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