Welcome to my information site on compost

Welcome

Composting is increasing rapidly in the UK and I am keen to make it work in environmetal terms. I am involved in many national projects, particularly in the quality of composts and their safe application to soil. Do you want help with using compost in agriculture? We can assist with our 'Earthcare' programme.

From 2008 to 2009, I have funding to continue two of the long term compost sites in Suffolk. I am concentrating on soil health as well as yields of potatoes and cereals. 2007 trials results are available from WRAP. I am also assisting Remade Southeast with their fruit trials and Remade Essex with their cereal and sugarbeet trials using compost.

Your rubbish is society's concern but still your responsibility. Help to minimise it, recycle it and not waste it. Why not look at http://www.compost.me.uk/?

Latest news.....

Orbit 2008 was held from October 13th to 15th in Holland and I was a speaker on manipulating compost to maximise its beneficial properties whilst minimising the risks to the environment.

The Soil Strategy is being re-written by Defra. The Quality Protocol and PAS110 for Anaerobic Digestion will be available in 2009 through WRAP. Enviros has updated the webtool to include digestates, see http://www.qualitycompost.org/.

The Composting Associaton changed its name to The Association for Organics Recycling in August 2008.




I collected an award for innovation with Enviros at the Composting Association's conference in December 2007 for the project I managed on compost use in agriculture over the last 8 years.




The 'Guidelines for the use of compost in agriculture and field horticulture' that I assisted WRAP to develop may be published this year - check http://www.wrap.org.uk/ .

The Quality Protocol (QP) for compost was released on 15th March 2007 and came into effect mid-May. Certified BSI PAS100 composts that comply will no longer be wastes as long as the end use is defined and located. For agriculture, initial soil testing and PTE modelling is required. A web tool has been developed by us at Enviros to aid record keeping and compliance with the QP. This is a really powerful tool to help you sell compost to farmers and if you need help with it to start up, contact me. See the site at http://www.qualitycompost.org.uk/

Odour.... The Composting Association's guide to odour management was published in March 2007. Visit their website http://www.compost.org.uk/ for a copy.

Useful external links

Enviros has a composting website that is full of information at www.compost.me.uk

If you are interested in composting, join the Composting Association www.compost.org.uk. I am a Director of this organisation.

I have completed many projects for WRAP on composting, see www.wrap.org.uk

Work for Defra includes the monitoring of the use of peat and alternatives. The 2005 report can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/science/documents/publications/Peat.pdf.

The ReMaDe Network is a group of organisations dedicated to the market development of recycled materials. Their website is under development at www.remadenetwork.org.uk. I am a Director of ReMaDe Network UK Ltd.

Here are some links to some of the ReMaDe organisations:

www.enviros.com

www.remadeessex.org.uk

www.remade-kentmedway.co.uk

www.envirolinknorthwest.co.uk

www.londonremade.com

www.remade.org.uk for Scotland

www.remadesw.co.uk for the South West, now called ReMaDe Wessex

www.ukceed.org in Peterborough for the East

www.recyclingaction-yorkshire.org.uk for Yorkshire

www.urbanmines.org.uk also in Yorkshire

www.walesenvtrust.org.uk

www.investmentbelfast.com

www.hnri.co.uk for Hampshire

Agriculture

Agriculture is the primary market for composts and over 1 million tonnes were used in 2005/06. However, the soil is our greatest natural asset and we need to protect it and preserve it, whilst improving its organic matter and biodiversity. Quality compost, used correctly, is a good way of improving arable soils and reducing their erodibility.

We provide a service called 'Earthcare' to help you apply compot to farmland correctly.

News...

Quality Compost is defined in the Quality Protocol launched in March 2007. At Enviros we have written the web tool to aid the record keeping required. This is available at http://www.qualitycompost.org/. Other 'waste' composts, including that produced under exemption for own use on farm, require a Para 7a exemption for land spreading in agriculture. In 2009, new simplified licences will be used for small scale on-farm composting rather than exemptions.

Compost use fits in well with soil, nutrient and manure managemnt plans as part of Cross Compliance and Environmental Stewardship. I am writing guidelines for WRAP covering these aspects and these will be released soon.

Research

A three year project started in September 2001 in Eastern England was managed by me at Enviros. This was funded by the GrantScape and the British Potato Council/the Applied Research Forum. Seven sites had compost applied in fully replicated trials in combination with artificial fertilizers. Crop yield and quality, nutrient release, soil structure, plant pathogen kill and the effects of compost on soil-borne dieseases have been assessed.

Previous work in agriculture carried out by me at Levington Agriculture is available from the 'media centre, archived reports' section of the Evolve EB website.

The results of year one 2001/02, year two 2002/03 and year three 2003/04 have been assessed. The consolidated report is available from http://www.compost.me.uk/. The project was continued into 2005 and 2006 and the Phase 2 report is also available from that web site, along with useful leaflets summarising the benefits of using compost. WRAP continued to support the trials - on 3 sites in 2007. They have supported trials on a number of other sites and crops including fruit and vegetables in Kent through ReMaDe Southeast http://www.remade-southeast.co.uk/.

Rothamsted carried out assessments on soil physical structure from plots and Reading University investigated irrigation and microbial biomass effects from compost. We also looked at nitrogen release in 2005/06.

Remade Essex had a site in Essex where much greater amounts of compost were applied: zero, 100, 200 and 400 t/ha with sub plots of zero, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg fertilizer nitrogen in a fully replicated design. The plots were harvested in July 2003 with an additional 1 t/ha oilseed being harvested from 100 t/ha compost over and above inorganic nitrogen effects. See Remade Essex. This site was continued into 2004 (wheat) and 2005 (hemp) with good results, expecially for the hemp.

Remade Essex also managed a series of agricultural projects as part of RMDF from WRAP on erosion and drainage on light and heavy land with my technical input.

Other trials reports from ORA are available at www.o-r-a.co.uk/reports.

Dissemination is through the British Potato Council web site http://www.potato.org.uk/, and also from http://www.compost.me.uk/.

A report on the potential use of compost in organic agriculture is available from the WRAP website http://www.wrap.org.uk/. WRAP have also undertaken surveys of the use of compost in intensive agriculture.

Defra have a project called 'Alowance' which is mapping the land bank available for manures, sewage sludges and composts.

Growing media and retail

This is a technically demanding market for compost.

Survey of peat and alternatives for soil improvement and in growing media

Defra have funded a project to survey the industry over 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010 to be carried out by Enviros and ADAS. The 2005 results are available from http://www.defra.gov.uk/science/documents/publications/Peat.pdf.

The growing media industry is aiming to reduce the proportion of peat usage to assist with the Biodiversity Actions Plans set by Defra.

Phil Wallace and colleagues of Enviros, assisted by ADAS, also completed the survey of peat and alternatives, including composted materials, used in growing media and landscaping for 2001.
Details were published in the Composting Association News Vol 7 Issue 3 Summer 2003.

Other projects

I am assisting Warwick University in 2008 with a project on carbon footprint of growing media products.

A project started in 2003 funded by WRAP was on the specification of compost for use in growing media. Phil supported Paul Waller in this project and the report was launched on 16th June 2004. Paul conducted a survey on growing media for the HDC in 2005/06.

Enviros worked with WRAP on a project on the use of compost in growing media led by Peatering Out Ltd and it was also reported in 2004. Additional work was done assisting growers with funding from Remade Essex and the Clean Merseyside Centre (now Remade NorthWest). These projects demonstrated that green compost and wood based materials can be used to replace peat in growing media.

To maximise the use of green compost in growing media it is probably best to mix with peat, until further work is completed, at 10 to 33% compost inclusion rate.

A fact sheet on the use of compost in growing media, written by Phil, is available from the WRAP website http://www.wrap.org.uk/

Landscaping and brownfields

Landscaping with compost

Enviros developed landscape specifications to the NBS format funded by WRAP. These are available, as well as full guidelines on the use of compost in landscaping, from the WRAP web site www.wrap.org.uk.

In Essex a project was completed, funded by Remade Essex, on the use of compost to plant and mulch trees alongside the A130.

Topsoil manufacture

British Standard 3882:1994 was updated and launched on November 26th 2007. A useful Topsoil Toolkit has been created through ReMaDe East with funding by WRAP.

Composting, AD and MBT

Composting

We can design and manage the construction of composting facilities, see www.compost.me.uk.

AD

Anaerobic digestion is set to increase over the next few years as food wastes start to be collected. For a beginner's guide see www.anaerobic-digestion.com.

MBT

Useful information is available from http://www.compostinfo.info/

How to interpret compost analysis

In the UK, peat-based compost has traditionally been extracted with water on a 1:6 v/v basis. New EU methods are to be followed which are based on a 1:5 ratio. Interpretation needs to be modified accordingly, but some research work needs to be done to compare the results. The PAS100 standards are based on the new EU methods. Other methods of measuring the availablity of plant nutrients may be better than water extraction, such as CAT, which is recommended for compost to be used in growing media, but research needs to be carried out to compare extractants.

Bulk density

Green waste compost has a relatively high bulk density, between 250 (low) and 750 g/l (high) This affects transport costs if it is incorporated into a growing medium, as it may limit the number of pallets loaded onto a lorry. For inclusion in a growing medium, bulk density should be less than 500 g/l, at a moisture content of 40%. Post composting processing affects this.

Moisture content

Green waste compost should be screened when it has a moisture content of about 40 to 45%. This avoids dust problems when it is drier. Dry compost may also not be stable as microorganisms are generally inactive when the moisture content falls to 35% and hence some materials may not have been fully decomposed. Re-wetting can re-activate microbial action.

pH (pH 1 = very acid, pH 7= neutral and pH 14 = very alkaline)

Green waste compost typically has an alkaline pH between 7.5 and 8.5. This can fall with maturity as the process of ammonium nitrogen conversion to nitrate nitrogen is acidifying. The compost has a small neutralising value for soils (around 10% that of chalk). The pH in a growing medium should, for most plants, be less than 6.5. Green waste compost therefore needs to be mixed with materials to create a growing medium with a lower pH. Peat often has a pH of around 4. Wood and bark based materials are also slightly acidic.

Organic matter content

Organic matter content is usually measured by loss on ignition. For green waste compost screened to <10mm,>Carbon:nitrogen ratio (C:N)

Green waste feedstock has a C:N ratio of between 25:1 and 35:1. As composting proceeds, carbon dioxide is evolved and the ratio slowly falls to a final value of around 12:1. If the feedstocks were high in nitrogen, e.g grass clippings or wet food wastes, ammonia may be evolved and cause an odour problem. The final C:N ratio may also be below 12:1 if the feedstocks are high in nitrogen. With very woody feedstocks, the final C:N ratio may be over 20:1 indicating that the compost may absorb nitrogen from the soil or growing medium system when mixed in.

Conductivity

This is a refelction of the salt content in the compost. Plants growing in soil or a growing medium can tolerate varying levels of salts depending on a number of factors such plant species and size, watering regime, environment, etc.

Green waste compost may have conductivity (1:5 v/v water extract) of as high as 1500 microS/cm and therefore need diluting. Seeds can germinate when the growing medium has a low conductivity e.g. less than 400 microS/cm whereas larger plants potted on may grow well when the conductivity is over 800 microS/cm.

Conductivity is particularly affected, and raised, by ammonium-nitrogen levels if the compost is immature.

Conductivity is reported as microSiemens/cm or milliSiemens/m - so divide the former to get the latter.

Water soluble nutrients

Water solubility of nutrients may not reflect the full availability of those nutrients to plants.
Ammonium and nitrate nitrogen are usually low (less than 50 mg/l in the fresh compost) with green waste compost. The ratio of these two forms of nitrogen may help to indicate maturity as immature composts have relatively higher levels of ammonium nitrogen.

Phosphorus is nearly always low due to the high pH levels.

Potassium and chloride levels are usually high as they are not bound up with organic matter and are very soluble, although potassium has been found to be only 50 to 80% extractable even by CAT extraction. These ions contribute to the high conductivities normally seen in green waste compost.

Total nutrients

The total nitogen content of a green waste compost is usually 1% plus or minus 0.5% in the dry matter This is only slowly released at a rate of about 10% a year.

The phosphorus content is also of low availability but the potassium is fairly soluble but only 50-80% may be available according to CAT analysis.

31 tonnes per hectare of green waste compost may apply 250 kg/ha of total nitrogen (25 kg/ha available in year 1), 100 kg/ha of phosphate (60 kg/ha available in year 1) and 200 kg/ha potash (half available).

Particle size

Screening mature compost gives materials such as a mulch grade (10-40 mm) or a soil improver (0-10 mm). Any plastic contaminants tend to be held in the over 10 mm fraction unless extarcted by fans.

For use in a growing medium too much fine material below 1 mm may result in poor aeration.

Air Filled Porosity (AFP)

AFP is a measure of the air space in a compost after free drainage. For use in a growing medium, AFP should be between 10 and 20% although for nursery stock outdoors in wet weather higher AFPs may be suitable.

Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs)

as ppm in dry matter:

PAS 100 limits

Copper (Cu) 200
Zinc (Zn) 400
Lead (Pb) 200
Nickel (Ni) 50
Chromium (Cr) 100
Cadmium (Cd) 1.5
Mercury (Hg) 1.0

Physical Contaminants

Total glass, metal and plastic > 2mm should not exceed 0.5% m/m of the total air-dried sample (of which plastic should not be more than 0.25%).

Stones > 4mm should not exceed 8% of the total air-dried sample apart from 'mulch' grades in which stones > 4mm should not exceed 16%.

These levels may be unacceptable in many applications, such as growing media or for potato production, and are further specified in industry specific guidelines.

Microbiological analysis

Salmonella should be absent per 25 g sample
E. coli to be <>Stability and maturity

Compost stability and maturity are important issues for the use of compost in growing media.

The BSI PAS 100 2005 suggests that compost with less that 16 mg CO2/g VS day is stable.

Options for compost measurement include Solvita, respiration techniques (CO2 evolution or O2 uptake), C:N ratio, ammonium:nitrate-N ratio, etc.

Photos and videos

These are some pictures to 'lighten up'.

For some great, but crazy animations, see Mike's spot at http://www.keyframes.moonfruit.com/

Easter 2007 - 2 weeks in Western Australia. Visited Perth and Margaret River areas. Great walks and wine tasting.

Sailing to the Ise of Man and back in October 2006 was an experience. Darren is telling John how big the waves might get and John looks concerned. Fiona wishes she was on dry land but I loved it.

How about some skiing?

My life travel diary

In reverse chronological order...

Skied in Avoriaz again with the Martlesham boys. Good snow.

Summer 2008 we holidayed in the south of France.

June 27th 2008, the graduation day for my long awaited PhD - only 7 years in the making.

May 14th 2008, had my knee cartilidge operated on so am on crutches for 8 weeks

May 11th 2008, passed my coastal skipper course and exam so am now free to roam the world.

43 points in the April golf stableford, handicap cut to 13 again.

Had a great holiday in Avoriaz with the lads from Martlesham Leisure in January 2008. The snow was good including a 30cm load on the Friday night for some tough skiing on the last day. I did not go down the 'Wall' behind me!

Cornwall, Summer 2007, started by a drive through rain on the Saturday but the Doom beer on arrival picked up spirits. On Sunday the rain cleared and we checked out Lamorna (rocky path), Porthcurno (and saw basking sharks) followed by Sennen Cove. On Monday we walked to Mousehole for coffee, had a pasty in Penzance and then lazed on Porthcurno beach. Next day we went to the Eden Project and on Wednesday back to Sennen beach for some bodyboarding and a walk up to the headland. Thursday was a walkabout at St Ives with a proper walk at the Lizard next day. Good bodyboarding at St Ives on Saturday - plus our wedding anniversary, so a posh meal out. Lazy Sunday and a bit of a walk in some drizzle pm. Monday walked around Pendeen lighthouse, pub lunch in Marazion and over to St Michael's Mount at low tide. Sennen Beach again but windy and cool on Tuesday, so walked to Land's End (saw a seal) followed by bodyboarding but the surf was poor. Porthcurno beach on Wednesday with a walk to Treen and back. Tea and cakes at Lamorna Pottery. Trip to Helford on Thursday, over the river by ferry to the gardens. Friday was the last day, spent on St Ives beach all day. A great British holiday!

We arrived safely in Perth, Australia for a holiday the week before Easter 2007. The weather was great and the company even better! Day 1 - we went up and down the Swan River by speedboat. Day 2 - a nice walk in King's Park. Day 3, I walked for 2 hours along the white sandy beach and had a dip in the Indian Ocean. Wednesday was a walk along the beach to Hillary's Harbour and back. On Thursday we all went to Wyadup near Margaret River for a long weekend, stopping at Busselton Jetty on the way to see the fish from the underwater observatory. On Friday, we drove through the Boranup Forest and along a 4WD track to Boranup Beach before going to the chocolate factory in Margaret River. On Saturday, we walked to Injidup Bay from the cottage, then went to Dunsborough for lunch, walking round the lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste in the afternoon. Easter Sunday saw us down Ngilgi cave before trying some wine tasting and lunch to live music at Knee Deep winery. On Monday we did a long 2 1/2 hour coastal walk from Moses Rock to Indijup Bay on the Cape to Cape trail before lunch at Bootleg Brewery, a walk in a woodland trail near Margaret River and an evening meal at the Goose Restuarant in Busselton on the way back to Perth. Tuesday was a trip up Moore River, an hour north of Perth - very relaxing place. Wednesday, just a rest on the beach.

In January 2007 I went skiing with friends at Claviere and Montgenevre. A good area for skiing and high enough to have had some good runs available then. There were icey runs too!

In October 2006, the Enviros adventurers went sailing from Conwy in Wales, via Anglesey to the Ise of Man and back over a long weekend. A great experience.

The summer of 2006 saw us in Croatia sailing with Neilson again. A really good place to go and the sailing was excellent. You must visit Dubrovnik.

Winter, January 2006 and skiing again, this time in Serre Chevalier. A small tumble when I thought I had damaged my ankle but the new boots held me togther and I was off once more. Skiing on blades is good fun but a bit hairy trying to keep up with the guys on long planks.

Christmas 2005, skiing at Alpe Duez with all the family, brilliant. Earlier in the summer we just had a long weekend in Poole, Dorset, as at Easter we all went to Australia. We spent a week or so in Perth with A+J, K+A before going to Sydney to see big brother and family.

January 2005, skiing at Schladming in Austria - a bit icey lower down but we did all the black runs. A bit of a trek from the hotel to the lifts.

Christmas 2004 - we all skied in Avoriaz.

Summer 2004 stayed at home.

January 2004, my first skiing trip with the lads from the squash club - in Montgenevre - an experience not to be forgotten - the skiing was great too!

Summer 2003 - was that Nidri?

At Easter 2003, we went to Cornwall with A+J and family - amazingly good weather with Mike skim boarding on the beaches with his little follower in tow.

Skied at La Plagne Christmas 2002?

Summer 2002 - a great holiday in Turkey dingy sailing and windsurfing for 2 weeks.

In 2001, we closed the doors on Levington Agriculture Ltd and I joined Enviros Consulting Ltd, then March Consulting Ltd.

Quite a few summer holidays with Eurocamp in France from 1993 to 1995 - mostly in Brittany but also in the south. Also a nice holiday with A+J in Cornwall.

At the end of 1990 we had had enough of working abroad, especialy with the kids getting to school age. A+J got married with our two as bridesmaids in 1990. So a year working in London, still with CDC, before joining Levington Agriculture Ltd in Suffolk, close to home, in 1992. We moved house that summer - only 300 metres!

From 1986 to 1990 we were in Papua New Guinea. What an experience that was! We had some trips to Aus and one to New Zealand and one to the Solomon Islands. S came along in 1987 just after the big hurricane in S England!

I managed a 2:2 at Uni and thought that was the end of my academic career. But no, the Government accepted me for an MSc at Wye College in Plant Sciences before they were going to send me to West Africa. Luckily, due to unrest, I was sent back to Swaziland to the same project, now growing sugarcane, as before with the Commonwealth Development Corporation. This time with a wife! 1979 to 1986 with a few trips to South Africa. Bought our first house in 1982. L was added to the family in December 1984. 7 months before that event, we had a trip to Spain and France and a sailing holiday in Greece - first on many to come.

A sandwich year (1976) whilst at Reading Uni studying soil science (1974-1978) saw me in Swaziland - fantastic place. They had been trying to grow rice but there were soil salinity problems. To get home, I drove up to Nairobi with John and Vicki via Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, then flew home.

At 18 and 19, I had some good holidays on the west of Scotland with a gap year in Australia too (1973/74). I went via Singapore to Perth, staying with the Robertsons. Then drove across the Nullabor desert to Adelaide, up to Canberra and Sydney. I arranged my journey home but first to the Gold Coast and some sun. Then from Sydney to Auckland in NZ , the Phillipines, Hong Honk and Japan. All on an old cruise ship staffed by Russians - the Feydor Shelyapin. I flew back to London for a summer in Scotland.

As a young teenager, I had some great holidays - hitch-hiking through Wales, roaming the hills of Mull. I also went on some exchanges to France and Belgium - all good experience and gave me the travel bug.

When I was little, we were lucky to have a 2 week holiday in Scotland with relations. We also cycled round East Anglia for fun, not once but twice, stopping at Youth Hostels each night. Would you do that now with the amount of traffic on the roads?