How is it made?

Composting is a natural biological process in which micro-organisms present in organic waste break it down into a stable organic material that can be easily stored, handled and spread on land. Any harmful micro-organisms or weed seeds that may be present are killed by heat generated during the composting process (nominally around 60°C)

At our Hill and Moor composting site near Pershore we receive over 20,000 tonnes of green garden waste per year. Most of this comes from our household recycling centres in Worcestershire and Herefordshire, where householders have placed their garden waste into our green waste containers (hopefully without the plastic bags or any other ‘contaminating’ material!).

At Hill and Moor we shred the waste and place it into long piles called ‘windrows.’ Then we just let nature do its stuff. We monitor the temperature and moisture content in the windrows, and we irrigate and turn them over regularly to provide good oxygen supply and to maintain the correct conditions for uniform decomposition.

(For more information on composting and the recycling of organic waste go to The Association For Organics Recycling)

After a minimum of 14 weeks the composted material is ready for screening. We use a rotating drum screen which sieves the finished product down to 12mm or less. It also removes any bits of plastic or other contrary material that has escaped the eagle eye of our operatives.