The Board and staff at the Southern Recycling Centre are celebrating after a year of record sales of their compost that is made from garden waste that is deposited on site.
In the year to March 2017 1195 tonnes of garden waste were brought to the Centre by householders, commercial landscapers and gardeners. Instead of paying in excess of ?80 per tonne to incinerate this at the Energy form Waste Plant staff at the Recycling Centre shred it and convert to compost that is sold back to the landscaping industry or to gardeners or allotment holders.
In the year to 31st March 2016 sales struggled to break through the 100 tonne per year mark, with the vast majority of that being sold in bags to the general public. In contrast, in the first seven months of the current year sales are in excess of 350 tonnes with the majority of that being sold to the landscaping industry.
Chairman of the Board, Mr Jerry Ludford- Brooks said today,
“This is a good news story. Converting our green waste to compost which we can sell is better for the environment than burning it, it is better for the island’s roads as we can save 180 heavy goods vehicle trips to the Energy for Waste Plant per year, and it is better for the ratepayers of the South as it changes a disposal cost into an income stream.
Our compost is regularly tested at Chester Laboratories and is proven to be both high in nutrient value and free of any unwanted contaminants.
We would like to continue to expand our sales until we can sell of all of the approximately 500 tonnes that we make per year.”
Site supervisor, Phil Byrne said,
“Our compost is proving popular with some of the most demanding customers on the island. Not only do we supply landscaping contractors who are very particular about what they use but also Manx Food Producers, for whom quality is of the highest importance. Keeping up production to meet this endless demand has been a challenge, but it is satisfying to see customers coming back for more. Regular laboratory analysis of the product keeps us on our toes and gives us assurance that what we are selling is a top class product.”
