THE GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME; You don't get much more green than grass cuttings and hedge trimmings. But why send them to landfill when you could return them to the land? Environment reporter AMY HUNT found out how garden waste is recycled

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Oct 4, 2007

Byline: AMY HUNT

EVER wondered where your garden waste goes?

After you have pruned and trimmed hedges and lawns, and piled the clippings into your green wheelie bin or in a skip at the tip, what happens to it?

Lorries take waste from all over North Tyneside and Northumberland to a farm at Codlaw Hill off the Military Road in Northumberland, one of several sites in the county where it is made into compost.

Each load delivered to the site is piled up next to the gateway of a field which smells vaguely of soil and damp.

Branches and other items are then shredded into smaller pieces and tipped on to a mound. Over the next few weeks, bacteria and fungi use the organic matter for energy, breaking it down and producing compost which can be used on the land.

The compost has to be kept at a constant temperature of 65 degrees for seven consecutive days to meet quality standards which allow it to be spread on fields and gardens.

It also has to be turned regularly to mix air into the compost to break it down.

For up to 12 weeks it is kept at the site, gradually being broken down and checked to see it is at the right temperature and contains the right amount of moisture. Nothing is added; all it needs is oxygen to start to break it down, giving off heat as it decomposes. Finally, it is passed through a machine called a trommell to become a rich compost which can be spread on to fields to put nutrients and organic matter back into the soil. The compost can also be used for landscaping and some is bagged and sold for use in gardens. Site owner James Enderby has run the site since 2006 on contract to SITA UK and Northumberland County Council, who collect and supply the green waste.

The business is growing as more collections are made to try to reduce the amount going into landfill, with the site licensed to take up to 24,999 tonnes of waste in a year.

Mr Enderby said: "In summer we get a lot of grass and finer products and the temperatures get high quickly, whereas in winter people have been pruning their gardens and the temperature takes longer to get to a good level."

Although it does not matter what garden waste comes into the site, no litter or food waste can be used. Waste should also be put in loose, not in bin bags which need to be ripped open.

Richard Hinchcliffe, gen- eral manager for SITA UK's recycling and waste management contract with the county council, said: "Composting operations like this are an invaluable part of the process to recycle green waste.

"We like to use this type of facility because they are local to our collection points and are very effective in diverting green waste away from landfill."

CAPTION(S):

FOREMAN: Alistair Dodd at the site; BACK TO THE LAND: The compost production process at Codlaw Hill is licensed to take up to 24,999 tonnes of waste a year