We all produce organic waste, from kitchens, from gardens and as sewage. Industry and farming also produce very large quantities of organic wastes such as fibre or manures. Natural materials require natural solutions — not disposal in landfill. Yes, in landfill they will break down over time but they will not produce any useful products and they will generate gases that have considerable impact as greenhouse gases affecting the ozone layer. A natural option is to compost material to produce useful products for application to land as fertilizers or as soil improvers for landscaping and land renewal. Top quality material can also be used as growing-media for pot plants or garden centre products instead of peat.

Composting is not just about having piles of waste material in the corner of a field or yard and allowing it to rot!

There are many ways that waste organic matter can be managed to produce quality materials that can be used for a range of purposes.

True composting is controlled degradation of organic material at naturally occurring high temperatures in a the presence of oxygen. Temperatures should be high enough to ensure pasteurisation of the material so that undesirable pests and diseases can be killed-off but not so high that the material itself is denatured or that good microbes are killed.

A good compost should be rich in bacteria and fungi that are good for the soil and for the environment, not a sterile product from a clinical factory that cannot give goodness and vitality.

In the UK, government has set very strict targets for recycling. Because so much of our waste is compostable, techniques to carefully manage large-scale composting in our communities and in commerce are now essential. Active Compost is specifically tailored to help achieve this.

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