Up to 20,000 tonnes of the green-waste compost will be used in 2003 alone to replace some of the peat in Scotts Horticulture's Levingtons growing media. And the first six months of sales have shown no fall in demand.
Apex compost is produced through a partnership between the composting arms of Cleanaway, Onyx and SITA. Dr Stephen Wise, composting manager for SITA, said: “This is the first time that green compost has been used on a commercial national scale as a peat replacement ingredient within growing media and demonstrates that if produced correctly it can be successfully used within growing media products.”
Horticultural growing media is traditionally made from peat and added nutrients. At the highest quality end of the gardening market, it is seen as the next market compost needs to crack, and is the subject of a series of trials recently launched by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (see letsrecycle.com story).
Dr Wise revealed that SITA's two Leicestershire sites had supplied Apex compost to Scotts in early 2002 for 12 months' worth of trials before the commercial sales began a year later. These trials established the best combination of compost and other ingredients for a growing media of consistently good quality.
He explained: “The trials were a success and that means customers are happy with that product and Scotts are happy to continue with that. If the product hadn't performed, they would have dropped it. But it's consistent and meets their quality standards and works as a growing media.”
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