The ADAS has taken over the 17-hectare Hensby Composts site near St Ives in Cambridge to carry out its research at what it is calling the National Centre of Excellence in Composting.
The company will continue composting at the site's through-flow level of 100,000 tonnes of green waste, using material from local civic amenities sites for the time-being, but this capacity is likely to increase.
Site manager Jeremy Jacobs said: “We have not estimated how much we would like it to rise by, but demand for composting is increasing all the time. We will grow as we are required to, but we do not need to expand the actual size of the site.”
He added that the site was not currently compliant with Animal By Product Regulations but that steps were being made to ensure that the site would be compliant early next year with a view to it becoming the “largest commercial in-vessel composting facility in the UK”.
Some concerns were raised about emissions from the composting process in the government's study into the health effects of waste management facilities. Research from the centre could be important in looking into reducing potential problems in that area.
Training
The centre will also offer training to composters, regulators, government agencies and local authorities on the principle and practice of composting.
Patrick Pierrepont, ADAS head of waste management, said: “ADAS will actively encourage the participation of government departments and agencies, local authorities and the general public in making this the most important composting site in the UK providing the focus for all activity over the next decade.”
The site currently uses a batch-tunnel in-vessel system from Dutch composting technology company Gicom b.v, and is now working with this company with a view to providing further batch tunnels on the site.
A 3.5 million contract funded by Landfill Tax credits from Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd has been granted to build more tunnels which will produce compost from organic fines. These will be trialled in soil restoration biofuel and agriculture.
Earlier this month ADAS was awarded preferred bidder status for a 2.4 million project at the centre funded through Defra's New Technologies Demonstrator Programme. The project will use 'state-of-the-art' batch tunnels to optimise the composting process in terms of energy consumption, labour costs and process time.
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