Composting and Green Waste

Some institutions have extensive grounds producing significant volumes of organic material, which can be shredded and used as mulch or composted.

Composting involves the breakdown of organic material (such as grounds waste, vegetable food waste, paper and wood) using the natural process of decay. What is left at the end of the process is a material that can be used as soil dressing or as potting compost, depending on its quality, so reducing costs to the institution.

The potential for the release of odour and effluent, which may cause pollution if not controlled, are generally viewed as the main environmental impacts associated with composting. On the positive side, however, composting allows value to be recovered from organic waste.

So far, few good examples of successful composting schemes at UK FHE institutions are available. A number of composting schemes seem to have failed due to insufficient financial commitment from management:

Details on composting and information on facilities that may be required can be found at Association for Organics Recycling
The Waste Book and Waste Online provide good information resources on all aspects of composting.
Many local authorities operate composting facilities that may take your waste as do an increasing number of private waste management companies. Expect to pay a ‘gate fee’ for disposing of you waste via this route. Prices vary across the country. Consider buying back composted material for grounds maintenance work.
A paper entitled “Disposing of organic waste at Browns University” describes a composting project to deal with food waste. Although the local environmental conditions at Browns University, Rhode Island, USA will be different to institutions in the UK, many of the principles about composting will be the same.
The Composting Resource provides useful links
A guide to home composting by Improvenet has useful information and links

See Legislation

See Practical Waste management –composting

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