Recycling, Renewable Energy, Resource Efficiency

Compost

Viridor composts over 300,000 tonnes of green and organic wastes each year.

Viridor manages and operates a number of sites that, under strict control procedures, produce compost in one of two ways - Windrow Composting and In-Vessel Composting.

Windrow Composting uses grass cuttings, leaves, weeds and hedge trimmings from Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) and kerbside collections. Over 12 weeks it is shredded, mixed and placed into huge windrows, or elongated piles. The material is turned regularly to let oxygen circulate. Bacteria breaks down the material to produce heat which transforms and sanitises the product, turning it into rich, dark compost.

The In-Vessel Composting (IVC) process is also aerobic. Once the material is sorted and shredded, it is processed in an enclosed building where optimum temperatures and oxgyen supply are maintained to accelerate the composting process.

Viridor manages a number of IVC facilities in partnership with local authorities in the UK.

Much of our compost is accredited to the national BSI PAS 100 composting quality assurance standard, certified by the Association for Organics Recycling.

Viridor compost can be used for a range of applications and end markets including horticulture, agriculture, sports facilities, landscaping and domestic gardening.