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Organics Recycling

Watch our video to learn more about organic recycling through us at Keenan Recycling.

We provide an organic recycling service for local authorities, horticultural businesses, and agriculture.

Our BSI PAS100-accredited compost offers an ecological and chemical-free alternative to chemical fertilisers in agriculture.

Our compost is a product of commercial food waste collections, combined with plant materials and organic waste recycled from parks, gardens, and households.

Research conducted for the agricultural industry has shown that compost boosts yield without detrimental effects on crop quality or safety and can increase soil organic matter more quickly than other organic materials.

The In Vessel Composting Process

Please look at the steps we take for our In-Vessel organic recycling.

Step 1

Biodegradable Waste

The garden and food waste arrive at the site in a co-mingled collection (i.e. collected in the same bin).

Step 2

Shred the waste

The waste is then passed through a large shredder which breaks it down to less than 12 mm in any plane.

Step 3

Blending

The shredded material is blended with wood, food waste, and water to create the perfect blend that nature needs to make compost.

Step 4

Vertical Composting

The mix is then transferred via sealed conveyors into the vertical composting units.
(VCUs) where it remains for at least three days.

Step 5

Microbial Action

Natural microbial activity in the waste generates heat.

Step 6

Temperature Control

Temperatures then reach 70 degrees for a minimum of 1 hour continuously.

Step 7

Storage

The mix is then moved into the maturation building, which remains for around six weeks and negatively aerated to speed up the composting process.

Step 8

Maturity

Once the mix is mature and transformed into the compost, it is moved outside for its final stages.

Step 9

Screening

The now matured compost is then screened to 40mm particle size.

Step 10

PAS100

The compost is then graded, producing a PAS100 product material, which is no longer a waste but a resource.

Step 11

Fertiliser

This compost can now be used as a fertiliser in farming and agriculture.

What is Compost?

We provide two varieties of organic compost for various uses: green and premium. As defined by the British Standards Institution’s Publicly Available Specification 100 (BSI PAS 100), the quality of these composts has been carefully maintained throughout the manufacturing process.

Green compost is a natural product made by mixing, stacking and turning biodegradable materials under managed conditions. All of Keenan Recycling’s compost is created from recycled plant materials from parks, gardens, and households.

Food-derived, or premium, compost is a natural product made by mixing, stacking and aerating biodegradable materials under strictly controlled conditions in an in-vessel composting system with a separate maturation phase.

How do we make it?

We operate Europe’s largest, and the world’s second largest, In-Vessel-Composting (VCU) plant which takes co-mingled food and garden waste and turns it into premium grade, PAS 100 compost. It is an accelerated version of the natural composting process where biodegradable waste is fed into large, enclosed insulated chambers, carefully controlled pH and microbial action to create premium-grade compost in three days. Take a look at the individual steps above.

We also use open windrow composting to recycle purely garden waste. The material is shredded and formed into trapezium-shaped piles and then monitored for moisture and turned to aerate over eight weeks. This produces a quality compost which is screened and sold to the agricultural or horticultural industry.

The Benefits

Our composts are high-quality soil conditioners that are versatile enough to be utilised as garden or agricultural compost. They contribute organic matter to the soil, which helps to enhance production in a variety of ways, including the following examples:

Reduced need for bagged fertiliser.

Reduced nutrient leaching

Increased yielding potential.

Increased traffic tolerance.

Nutrient recycling & Soil aggregation

Reduced erosion risk.

Greater workability of the soil.

Plant disease suppression

Improved water-holding in light soils

Potential to improve drainage in heavier soils

Anaerobic Digestion Process

At both of our Processing facilities, we carry out large-scale mechanical food waste depackaging.  This creates a feedstock for Anaerobic Digestors to break Gas and Electricity. Take a look at the steps involved in recycling your food waste through Anaerobic Digestion.

Download our Guides on Composts in Agriculture below

Premium Compost Green Compost

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