UK – new composting plant opens

West London Composting (WLC) new plant, claimed to be the UK‘‘s first composting centre modelled on advanced European facilities, has now opened.



The company has been established to partner with local authorities in a bid to help the Government increase the amount of household waste recycled from 15 per cent to 25 per cent by 2005/2006. More recently, WLC has signed a long-term agreement with the London Borough of Hillingdon to process waste from kerbside collections and the borough‘‘s civic amenity site.



WLC will process over 50,000 tonnes of green, kerbside and catering waste per year at the site. The end result of the process is compost that is friable, moist and odourless, suitable for a wide variety of individual or commercial requirements. WLC‘‘s standard product will be 10mm general compost ideal as a soil conditioner or for blending with sands.



In light of foot and mouth, and recent animal by-product regulations, the recycling centre ensures the careful management of household waste, eliminating any risk of cross-infection. Furthermore, all waste received on site undergoes a rigorous decontamination process to help eradicate the risk of disease, in compliance with the Animal By-Products Regulations 2003



Once at the site, refuse collection vehicles are weighed on a weigh-bridge before the waste is discharged into a purpose-built reception building. The material is then processed in a Crambo shredder. From here it is transported in to one of eight vessels that comprise ‘‘barrier one‘‘. Each vessel has a capacity of 150 tonnes. The waste remains in this controlled environment between seven and 11 days, during which time the batch will have achieved a temperature of 60ºC for two consecutive days, inline with Government guidelines. The material is then transferred to ‘‘barrier two‘‘ (comprising eight further vessels), and the process is repeated, before being transported to an open-windrow composting facility where it remains for up to 10 weeks, depending on the end-market requirement. The trapezoid-shaped windrows are turned at regular intervals in order to add oxygen and mix the material. While some materials such as highly active organic waste can produce an unpleasant smell, the sophisticated processing techniques employed by West London Composting, are specifically designed to eliminate any odours.



Once matured, the material is screened before being subjected to the tightest quality controls. The end result is compost that is friable, moist and odourless, suitable for a wide variety of individual or commercial requirements. The standard product will be 10mm general compost ideal as a soil conditioner or for blending with sands