What Is Commercial Composting and How Can Cities Manage Organic Waste

The Scale of the Organics Problem

Organics are the largest single component of municipal solid waste. Their rate of decomposition is fast compared with petroleum-based materials such as plastic, but the sheer amount poses a challenge for cities trying to divert food waste effectively. Whether the material is food waste, yard trimmings or biodegradable packaging, optimising the system around it matters.

How Commercial Composting Works

At its most basic level, commercial composting works the same way as a garden compost pile, because it is the same natural process of decomposition. A good compost pile needs green inputs such as nitrogen-rich food waste, brown inputs such as dry carbon-rich yard trimmings, oxygen and water. Together these encourage microorganisms that raise the temperature inside the pile and break the organic matter down.

What Commercial Scale Adds

Commercial methods can deal with problematic materials such as meat and bones, which a simple garden pile cannot. That means commercial composting has the potential to handle all kinds of organic waste. It also requires more organisation: pile management, logistical coordination when collecting material, and sensitivity to the local environment and nearby residents. The end product is usually higher quality than an average home pile because of that careful management.

Where In-Vessel Machines Change the Equation

The constraint on city composting is rarely the biology, it is the land, the transport and the odour. An enclosed in-vessel machine placed near the source removes the long haul, contains the odour and cuts the weight that has to move by 85 to 90 percent before anything leaves the site.

Composting and the Circular Economy

Composting is currently the most environmentally beneficial way to handle organic waste and is a cornerstone of a more circular economy. It keeps food waste out of landfill and enriches soil, closing the nutrient cycle rather than ending it.