Our First In-Vessel Composter: A New Chapter for Community Composting

We're thrilled to announce a massive milestone in our commitment to regeneration and soil health: the arrival of our very first in-vessel composting unit!

This is a significant step towards a circular food system that regenerates urban soil health and increases local food production. In this post, we'll share the exciting details of what this means for our operations and the broader community.

What is In-Vessel Composting?

Before diving into the details of our new unit, let’s take a moment to explain what in-vessel composting is and why it’s such an effective waste management solution. It's an enclosed system that allows organic waste materials (like food scraps and wood shavings) to decompose in a controlled, oxygen-rich environment. Unlike traditional composting methods, where organic material is left in open piles, in-vessel composting takes place inside a unit to regulate temperature, moisture, and air circulation to accelerate decomposition.

This method offers numerous benefits over traditional composting. First, it speeds up the composting process, typically turning waste into nutrient-rich compost within a few months instead of over a year. Second, it helps contain odours and mitigates the risk of pests.

Why This Matters

Organic waste accounts for a significant portion of waste generated. Much of it ends up in landfills, where it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. By implementing in-vessel composting, we are helping to close the loop on organic waste, diverting it from landfills and turning it into valuable compost that can be used to build healthy living soil, improving biodiversity below ground and above ground. By doing this, we can finally end our reliance on synthetic fertilisers, which damage the health of both people and planet.

Our new in-vessel composting unit will allow us to process organic waste more efficiently, ensuring we can compost materials at a higher volume and with greater precision. This will help us to regenerate soil health and provide a cleaner, more sustainable method of handling organic waste.

The Benefits of In-Vessel Composting

• Speed and Efficiency: Traditional composting methods can take months to break down organic materials fully. With in-vessel composting, the process is significantly accelerated, often taking as little as 2-4 weeks to produce finished compost. This efficiency allows us to process larger quantities of organic waste and continuously generate compost on-site.

• Improved Waste Diversion: By composting organic materials instead of sending them to landfills, we’re helping to significantly reduce the volume of waste that ends up in landfills, where it generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In-vessel composting also helps divert food scraps and other organic materials from the waste stream.

• Reduced Odour and Pest Control: One of the challenges of traditional composting is managing odours and preventing pests, both of which can be a concern in open compost piles. The enclosed nature of in-vessel composting keeps these issues in check, providing a cleaner, more controlled environment for organic waste processing.

• High-Quality Compost: In-vessel composting ensures a more consistent and higher-quality end product. Because temperature, moisture, and air circulation are carefully controlled, the resulting compost is richer in nutrients and more uniform than compost produced using traditional methods.

• Supporting Local Food Production: The finished compost produced by our in-vessel unit will support local agriculture. Whether for enriching urban gardens, revitalising soil in local parks, or helping local farmers improve soil health, this compost will be put to good use in a variety of applications, benefiting our community in multiple ways.

  
  
  
  

How It Will Impact Our Operations

The introduction of our in-vessel composting unit will have a direct and positive impact on our day-to-day operations. This innovative solution will help us:

Streamline Waste Management:

By processing organic waste hyper-locally, we can significantly reduce the need for transporting large volumes of organic waste out of the city, saving time and money.

Enhance Sustainability Reporting:

As part of our commitment to transparency, we will be able to share more detailed reports about our waste diversion efforts. The addition of the composting unit will allow us to track and measure the volume of organic waste diverted from landfills, showcasing our progress.

Community Engagement:

We understand that sustainability is a shared responsibility. With this new composting unit, we can engage more directly with our local community, offering educational opportunities and potentially collaborating with local schools, organisations, and businesses to promote composting best practices.

What’s Next?

With the installation of our first in-vessel composting unit, we are excited about the possibilities ahead. Over the coming months, we will be fine-tuning the system, expanding its capacity, and exploring additional ways to enhance its effectiveness. We’ll also be working closely with local partners to ensure that the compost we produce can be used to benefit the community, from enriching urban gardens to supporting sustainable farming practices.

We’re not stopping here, this is just the beginning. The success of this first in-vessel composting unit will pave the way for additional units in the future, helping us scale our efforts to reduce waste further, encourage urban soil regeneration, and foster a circular economy.

Join Us on Our Journey

As we continue to evolve and innovate, we invite you to join us on this exciting journey toward a more sustainable future. Sign up for updates, composting tips, and more information about how we’re making a positive impact on our environment. If you're in Bristol and you'd like us to compost your food waste, please check out the Bristol Living Compost Project.

Thank you for your continued support as we take this important step in creating a cleaner, greener world for all.

Have questions about in-vessel composting or want to learn more about our soil regeneration initiatives? Please drop us a comment below or reach out to our team for more information. Let’s work together to make a difference!