The quality of your composting site will have a significant impact on your management efficiency, the ease of pile management and the quality of the compost produced on the site. Most importantly, the space available for composting and moisture management on the site will affect how you compost, what is required of you to produce quality compost, and how much material you can compost. Additionally, the site is also the interface between your nutrient-rich feedstocks and the surrounding ecology. Developing a site that meets your physical and logistical needs, is easily managed and accessed, and prevents the movement of nutrients and pathogens from entering surface or ground water requires foresight into your developing and changing composting program, an understanding of management factors, and time to plan effectively. The following overview on site development covers the major considerations in identifying and developing a composting site.
Identifying a Composting Site:
- Identify what information you need –
• What feedstocks will you be composting?
- Will you require a permit for composting any of your anticipated feedstocks (this will impact the physical requirements of the site)?
- How much material do you anticipate composting?
- How frequently will you handling new feedstock?
- Do you plan on composting through the winter?
- How much space will you require?
- Does the site require improvements?
- What are the space requirements of the site?
Knowing how much space you will require for your composting operation will help you identify suitable areas. Considerations for the area required include:
- Area required for composting – piles and work area
- Area required for the storage of bulking materials and other feedstocks
- Receiving area
- Mixing area
- Curing area
- Finished product storage
- Access roads, loading areas, etc.
- Storm water management
These space requirements can be calculated with the Determining Your Composting Pad Size worksheet.
- What are the physical characteristics of the site and surrounding area?
- Depth of soil to bedrock and seasonally high ground water
- Minimum recommended distance to bedrock: 3-6 feet
- Minimum recommended distance to ground water: 1 ½ - 3 feet
- Distance to property boundaries and public roads
- 100’ is a generally recommended minimum separation distance from boundaries unless neighbor consent is obtained. Larger separation distances are recommended for potentially sensitive neighbors, such as nursing homes, retail and food-related businesses, and schools.
- Distance to wells, springs, surface waters or wetlands
- 100 (upslope) – 300 (downslope) feet minimum
- A site should not be located in an area with a potential for flooding
- Site slope
- 2-3% slope is ideal, a range of 1.5-6% is tolerable
- Seasonal workability and access for incoming feedstock and outgoing compost
- Drainage
- What are sources of clean storm water that might enter the site?
- Vicinity of site to other critical infrastructure – barns, water, etc.
- Soil type and topography
Developing your composting site
- Do you need to improve your pad?
Pads are commonly improved for several reasons, including moisture management, permitting requirements, and workability. Managing site moisture is critical both in terms of site access and workability year-round, but also in terms of protecting ground and surface water quality. Your need to permit your site with the state will be based on the amount and type of feedstocks you are composting. Composting agricultural byproducts on a farm does not require a permit, however other organic materials, such as food scraps, sourced from off the farm may require that the site be permitted. Workability of the site will be affected by the grade and level of the site, as well as its configuration.
- Improving/ Working with a Site
- Divert clean water
- Obtain or maintain separation distances to water sources of at least 100’ downslope and 25’ upslope
- Improve your pad surface
- Grade site – 2-3% slope if possible
- Terracing can be used effectively to reduce slopes
- Consider various pad materials for improving workability, permitting and moisture management
- Management Choices – length of processing period
- Consider the infrastructure you will need – sheds, bump walls, access road, turn around, etc.
- Use swales, buffer strips and other conservation measures as needed
- In planning the site, orient piles with slope to prevent ponding
- Manage storm water
- Desired pad characteristics
- Obtains adequate vertical separation distances to ground water and bedrock
- Drains easily
- Maintains a firm surface
- Pad surfaces
- Bank-run gravel
- Concrete
- Lime-hardened clay
- Native soil
- Bark mulch/ wood chip
- Managing storm water
- Divert clean water before it enters the site whenever possible
- Gutters
- Swales
- Curtain drain
- Capture site storm water if necessary
- Evaporation ponds
- Reapplication
- Manure pit
- Site Management
- Keep site free of ruts and other low spots where moisture will accumulate
- Orient piles with slope to prevent ponding
- Logistical and Infrastructure Considerations
- Your volume estimates
- Actual livestock time in barn
- Will you be composting all of your manure?
- Achieving volume reduction in barn
- Management options
- Can you reduce your feedstock retention time on the site or pad?
- Can you arrange/ organize your pile management to reduce work space required (ex. – can an alley be eliminated between two piles which can be turned toward each other, and eventually, combined?
- Infrastructure
- Access roads
- Receiving area
- Feedstock storage
- Truck turning
- Sheds - wash shed, equipment shed, feedstock shed
- Other needs – storage, mortalities, curing, etc
- Seasonal influxes of material
- Winter stock-piling
- Winter packs from pack barns
- Future needs/ changes
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