Making “Mountains” Of Mulch And Compost

Working with an area hauler and landfill company, wood processor diverts green waste for booming mulch and compost business.



Rhodes Yepsen





HANSEN‘‘S Tree Service, in Missouri‘‘s St. Louis metropolitan area, has an unusual setup, one that has proven to be quite successful for owner and President Jeff Hansen. In the 1980s, Hansen drove a garbage truck during the week, and cut trees with his uncle on the weekends. The experiences of those two jobs form the backbone of his current business, where arrangements with a trash hauler and the landfill allow him to be the area‘‘s main green waste processor.

To build markets for the large volumes of processed green waste, Hansen learned how to make a high quality product superior to straight sawmill mulch. He visited John and Tim Martin of Martin Mulch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who taught him about the importance of carbon to nitrogen ratios in compost and mulch for enhancing plant growth. “I learned that mulch made from sawmill and pallet material is so high in carbon that it actually robs plants of nutrients, essentially leaching nitrogen out of the soil that plants need to grow,” recalls Hansen. “On the other hand, mulch with a healthy carbon to nitrogen ratio doesn‘‘t just look pretty on landscapes, it offers the plants nutrients.”

With more than 75 acres divided between three sites, Hansen‘‘s has ample room for composting. Wood destined for mulch is allowed to dry out on an asphalt pad for about a year before being ground. Other green waste is mixed with horse manure and composted in trapezoidal aerated static piles (ASP). Approximately 400 to 500 yards/week of manure are delivered in roll-off containers from the waste haulers. “Our product is STA certified to ensure it‘‘s well-balanced and meets top quality standards,” explains Hansen.



HAULING HISTORY

In 1988, Hansen quit his garbage collection job and started his tree trimming business, with two trucks and a chipper. By 2000, he was bringing in over 50 tons/day, and was having trouble handling the volume. He bought a grinder in 2001, and soon decided that with his knowledge of trash hauling, he could start green waste collection. After Hansen purchased 30 to 40 roll-off containers, local hauler Crown-Excel Disposal identified the competition and bought him out. “We hadn‘‘t been competitors before, so Crown-Excel suggested that we each focus on what we did well,” says Hansen. “For Crown-Excel it‘‘s trash hauling, and for Hansen‘‘s it‘‘s tree service and recycling wood waste debris.”

Crown-Excel is a subsidiary of the area‘‘s predominant road builder, Fred Weber Inc., which also owns a landfill. “Fred Weber agreed to continue bringing us the green waste, and it also offered to let us process green waste at its 650 acre landfill,” he continues. “The landfill is at an active quarry, and we compost right on the quarry floor.” Besides the advantage of an impervious rock surface for composting, the site is already fully permitted.

Having positive relationships with the hauler and the landfill make life easier, remarks Hansen. “Remaining friendly with the other players in your industry will only help your business. We‘‘ve also been loyal to our equipment vendors and banks, instead of jumping around, and they in turn go the extra mile for us.” Hansen‘‘s owns four Vermeer grinders (one horizontal and three tubs), and one CBI.

In 2007 Hansen‘‘s sold 25,000 tons of material, 17,000 tons of which was mulch. Approximately 80 percent of the wood coming into the sites goes to mulch, and 20 percent to compost, along with the horse stall waste. Hansen predicts that this year the volume sold will increase rapidly, to between 60,000 and 75,000 tons. “This higher number is a combination of more production and more popularity of