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There are two types of composting: at-home or small-scale composting and industrial/commercial composting. Each size has multiple ways of achieving high-quality compost. In this article, you will learn about three ways to compost for both types of composting and what you can and can’t compost.
This type of compost can take anywhere from three months - two years to create a high-quality compost. Finished compost can be used in your personal gardens or donated to community gardens and farms.
Backyard composting: can be done in an open pit or composting bin
Indoor composting: can be done in a homemade or purchased composting bin.
Vermicomposting: red worms break down organic material into high-quality compost called castings.
There are 185 full-scale composting facilities in the U.S. A full-scale composting facility is defined as a municipal or commercial facility that is equipped to receive and process organic waste that arrives by truckload volume from generators and haulers year-round.
Full-scale composting facilities’ main goal is to create a profitable product, fertilizing compost, in the quickest period. Once the compost is ready, composting facilities sell the fertilizer to the agriculture and landscaping sectors.
Aerated (turned) windrow composting:
Aerated static pile composting:
In-vessel composting:
It is the molecular breakdown of material from a tangible object to particles that the human eye cannot see.
A micro-organism is an organism that is of microscopic size, which is not visible to the naked eye. These include bacteria, viruses and fungus. A macro-organism in comparison are organisms that can be seen by the human eye like snails, millipedes, potato bugs, etc.
An end market is where the final transaction of a product occurs. In this case compost can be sold as a natural fertilizer to the agriculture sector, including local gardeners or industrial sized food producers.
By composting you are reducing the food waste going to landfills, preventing the food waste from decaying and causing methane. You are also regenerating your scraps into a natural fertilizer, effectively eliminating your need for chemical fertilizers.
We don't just talk the talk, at Smart Plastic we prove everything we say with credible third-party testing. Below you will find the corresponding tests that apply to all our claims.
