Wykey Farm 500kWe AD plant, North Shropshire

The new 500kWe Anaerobic Digestion plant installed recently by Shropshire engineering firm Marches Biogas on Wykey farm in Ryton XI Towns in the north of Shropshire is now fully commissioned and performing extremely well.

Wykey Farm is a mixed farm near Shrewsbury in Shropshire. The digester design features the new Marches Biogas Semi-Plug Flow system. The advantages of this system are increased and optimised feedstock retention times, smaller plant footprint and greater biogas output.

Wykey Farm AD plant feedstock utilises thousands of tonnes of chicken litter and maize silage produced on the farm each year.

Farm Manager Simon Gittins commented "The AD plant has surpassed all expectations. We are seeing a real increase in gas production of between 15 and 20% over book values and electrical output efficiencies of around 95%".
 
The second CHP unit is due to be installed shortly increasing output to 1MWe.

Shropshire waste treatment facility wins award

The Harper Adams Anaerobic Digestion Plant has been Highly Commended at a national award ceremony that showcases the best of responsible business in action.

Business in the Community (BITC)’s Awards for Excellence were held this year at Old Billingsgate Market, London, in the company of HRH The Prince of Wales.

Harper Adams was shortlisted for the Dairy Crest Rural Action Award and was presented with the Highly Commended accolade by Mark Allen, Chief Executive of Dairy Crest.

Estates Manager, Paul Moran, said: “It is great to be recognised at a national level amongst such prestige, and in the company of Prince Charles.  It demonstrates how AD has a benefit in terms of waste reduction, resource efficiency, carbon reduction and in creating rural jobs in the emerging green economy."

New Shrewsbury AD plant confirmed

Construction of a new Marches Biogas Anaerobic Digestion plant will commence this month for commercial composting specialists  Agripost Ltd. who are based on Lower House Farm in Shropshire. 
 
The AD system will initially be small scale completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) digester but is being designed to be flexible with provision to expand the scale of the plant at a later date.  The AD plant will augment the current garden waste recycling infrastructure at Agripost and will be used primarily to deal with the effluent produced from the composting process.

The site in the village of Cardeston, just a few miles from Shrewsbury already composts around 15,000 tonnes of green garden waste each year from local authority contracts. This will further help to diversify the farm and increase its environmental activities.  The farm already hosts the largest on-farm composting operation in Shropshire and the largest photo-voltaic array in Shropshire too! 

For more information on this site visit www.agripost.co.uk

NEW IMPROVED PLASTIC SERVICE

We are really pleased to hear that the Council is rolling out an expanded plastic recycling service to enable plastic pots, tubs and trays to be recycled alongside plastic bottles across the whole of Shropshire.



















This is great news for us at Shropshire Master Composters because it most be the most commonly asked question we ever get!  Even when we tell people that the majority of waste is actually biodegradable materials like food waste and garden waste, the general public seem to think plastic is a priority, so this will make a lot of folk very happy.


We think its great news is that thanks to changes in the sorting machinery used by contractor Veolia we can now all add plastic packaging such as margarine and ice-cream tubs, yogurt pots, microwave meal trays, trays from chocolate or biscuit boxes, instant noodle pots, custard and sauce pots. Plus you can include plastic lids now too.

The only downside for us gardeners is that they dont want plant pots and trays from the garden. But of course it is better to re-use these if you can and most of the larger garden centres accept these back for recycling now anyway.

But for all your household pots, tubs and trays used for food and drinks packaging this is a great step forward.  Simply wash & squash, then put them in your recycling box! Simple!

Shropshire Chilli Festival

Dorothy Clive Garden to host Chilli Festival and Food Fair on Sunday 23rd September 
 

The Dorothy Clive Garden is to host a Chilli Festival and Food Fair on Sunday 23rd September from 11am to 5pm. This special fundraising event will include various food and chilli related activities such as a fire breathing display, salsa music, chilli crafts and colouring for children, plus various stall holders who will be selling products from chilli oils, seeds and jams to chutneys, sauces and plants.

Most of the chillies on display on the day come from the Shropshire Chilli Farm which is based on the grounds of Wollerton Old Hall in Shropshire.  So its a real local success story.  Admission to this special fundraising event will be £3.00 per person and £1.00 for children between 6-18 years of age.

If you would like further information, please contact 01630 647237, alternatively email info@dorothyclivegarden.co.uk or visit the website www.dorothyclivegarden.co.uk.

 

AUTUMN COMPOSTING TIPS

Autumn is a great season to gather materials for composting. The wealth of carbon-rich matter will benefit your compost all year long.
Most people who begin home composting usually have plenty of nitrogen rich materials to add throughout the year - from kitchen scraps, fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, to grass clippings and other fresh materials. However, the carbon-based materials are more difficult to gather. These include leaves, vines, shrubby prunings, straw, dead leaves, wood chips and other items which are plentiful in autumn but less available the rest of the year.

The following tips will help you make the most of autumn's offerings. These simple practices will keep you in steady supply of compost all year, and by starting now you'll have finished compost for early spring gardening. The key to successful composting is maintaining a balance between brown carbon rich and green nitrogen rich materials in the compost bin. A healthy compost pile should have about 50:50 carbon (brown) materials and nitrogen (green) materials. The carbon-rich materials provide substance to your heap which aids aeration to speed up the composting process, eliminate odours and help produce a light, fluffy finished compost.

~ gather leaves
 
Leaves are one of the most valued compost materials because they are carbon-rich and small enough to be easily incorporated into the compost. Deciduous leaves are best;  as opposed to evergreen leaves such as holly, laurel and conifers. Wait until the leaves start turning brown before raking them up. (Some leaves can be left under trees and shrubs where they will compost themselves. This helps to reduce the amount of new mulch needed to cover the areas surrounding your trees and shrubbery.) 

~ too many leaves?
 
If you have too many leaves you can simply rot down the pile of leaves on their own to make leaf mould.  The pile should be damp enough but a piece of plastic sheeting over the pile will keep it from getting totally waterlogged.  Leaf compost is best used as an organic soil amendment and conditioner; it is not normally used as a fertilizer because it is low in nutrients.

~ collect the skeletons of finished annuals
 
Annuals from your vegetable garden which have finished fruiting and are now dying back can be set aside for composting. Large-bodied plants like tomatoes and brocholli can be chopped a bit smaller to make it easier to compost, but it is not advisable to put the root mass into the compost. Also, avoid composting any plants which have disease or mold problems. In theory, the heat from the composting process will kill disease spores, but in practice not all compost piles attain maximum heat potential. 

~ add leaves in small batches to avoid matting
 
The composting process speeds up when the materials are well mixed. Add just a few handfuls of leaves at a time to the compost bin; if you add too many leaves they will mat together into a soggy mass and slow down the process
 
~ store excess leaves for future composting
 
If you have a glut of leaves this autumn and dont want to make leaf mould you can simply store dry autumn leaves in sacks for future composting.  Come the summer when there is more of the lush 'green' materials available you can use the leaves to compliment the summers grass cuttings and other leafy green plant growth. This helps balance the green materials, stops your compost going soggy and provides structure which helps areate the compost heap for faster results.
 
~ save wood ash
 
If you have a bonfire this autumn for dealing with excessive amounts of leaves and woody tree branches and prunings save the ashes and once they cool add them to the compost bin. A top tip is to sprinkle the ash onto compost to avoid clumping.   
 
For more information on composting visit  www.shropshire.getcomposting.com

Autumn Equinox Harvest Festival

Some volunteers from Shropshire Master Composters are working with Transition Town Shrewsbury and others to encourage people to swap produce, seed, and excess food to help to reduce waste and encourage more sustainable lifestyles. There will be lots of jams, pickles and other seasonal fare on sale this coming Saturday 22nd September at the Shrewsbury Coffee House.

More Anaerobic Digestion facilities for Shropshire

 

Shropshire is rapidly becoming something of a centre of excellence for green energy production in particular from Anaerobic Digestion.  This economic and environmental boon is set to continue further with the proposed installation of a brand new 500kW Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Plant at Lea Hall Farm, near Shrewsbury. 

The 500kWe anaerobic digestion plan will be used to process  up to 10,500 tonnes of feedstock each year.  This shall be made up of 7,500 tonnes of green energy crops and 3,000 tonnes of poultry manure each year.

The plans which have already been granted planning permission are now well underway.  Its all part of diversification for the farm to help the business be more sustainable in every sense.  The farmers say it would produce enough electricity to supply 1,176 homes and operate 24 hours a day.  To put this into a local context that will be enough to supply the whole of the nearby village of Pontesbury and more.

Shropshire is Bloomin marvelous

Yet again the town of Shrewsbury already known as "the town of flowers" has  won a gold award at the annual RHS Britain in Bloom competition. Shrewsbury will also go through to the national finals after being named overall winners in the small city category.


And the rest of Shropshire was also celebrtating as Gold medals rained down like the Paralympics, with Oswestry, Ludlow, Newport and Bridgnorth and Claverley all winning Golds too!

Shrewsbury in particular stole the show by also winning a 'Horticultural Excellence Award' for the Dingle and the Landscape Award for Salop Leisure. Several other smaller sites such as local schools were also commended for their efforts to not just plant flowers but demonstrate environmental excellence through sustainable horticulture and community engagement.

As volunteers from Shropshire Master Composters have been involved in several of the events and displays for the judges we feel especially proud but its a real success story for all volunteers in Shropshire who do horticultural activity as this is what really impresses the judges as well as the excellent floral displays.

Shropshire developing renewable energy from farm muck

Shropshire farmers are proving that "where theres muck theres brass" by generating green energy and quality compost from their animal muck.  The latest proposed plant in the north of the county would generate circa 1.1 MW of electricity each hour of operation (sufficient to supply approximately 1000 residential properties), some of which would be used by farm but the majority will go into the National Grid to help power all our homes and businesses.

The facility planned for a Abbots Moor Farm near Oswestry in Shropshire would recycle 22,000 tonnes of muck each year - mainly unused maize, chicken litter and farm yard manure.  The rotting mixture would be cooked up into a slimy soup which bubbles away giving off methane gas which can be used as green energy.  The leftover compost like material is then spread on the land as an environmentally friendly fertiliser.

Textile recycling & composting

New research from national waste experts Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) suggests there is huge potential economic value in discarded textiles thrown out by households in Shropshire every year.

Apparently in the UK people chuck out about a million tonnes of textiles like clothes, shoes, towels, bedding and curtains, every year.  If reused or recycled this would add £238,000,000 a year to the flagging UK economy.

The boffins have calculated that this means across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin we are producing about 8,000 tonnes of waste textiles every single year and this could be worth almost £2,000,000 to the local economy!

What a waste!

From a home composting perspective it is worth reminding people that of course any natural fibres can be composted at home. This includes cotton, denim, hemp, wool and even leather will rot eventually.  Obviously man made fibres like polyester and nylon will not rot and should not be added and this includes any zips and buttons which will remain after decomposition and need removing.

But the thrust of this report is about getting more  value from textiles and whilst making compost is economically attractive the material has more value if recycled. So we dont recommend home composting textiles, donate them to a charity shop or take them to the council run recycling centres instead.  Just because you dont want something, someone else might and all types of textiles can be recycled.  Even lower quality items which cant be resold as second hand can still be shredded down and used to make "shoddy" which is used in cushion stuffing and for lining car seats. 

Composting Oak Leaves

Some people sometimes wonder if Oak leaves are OK to compost.  The answer is of course a big YES!  Oak leaves are slightly acidic, but overall are a wonderful addition to the compost pile.

A top tip from one of our volunteer Master Composters is to shred them as much as you can. Oak leaves are really tough and breaking them up not only increases surface area for microbes to attack - but it makes entry points in the tough material.  An easy way to shred leaves is to use the lawn mower on them.

Autumn leaves of all types really do make a great addition to the compost heap.  They are highly fibrous improving the aeration and composition of the soil.   The key thing like with all composting is everything in moderation, so make sure you mix in a bit of paper, cardboard, tea bags, vegetable peelings and other green garden waste so they you produce a well balanced compost. 

Other options for your leaves include: - 

 

- Think about using them as mulch. If you compost them they can take a while to break down but this is why they make a good mulch.  They stay in place for a long while and keep moisture in the soil and ultimately the rot into the soil like compost.

- If you keep them separate from your compost heap and leave them wrapped in a black plastic bag for a year or so they will make a great leaf mould.  Leaf mould is really precious soil improver which whilst not as nutritious as compost helps give excellent soil structure.

Shropshire Anaerobic Digestion facility creating local jobs for local firms

Shropshire-based Cosgriff Whitehouse Electrical Ltd (CWE) was called upon to install and commission the entire electrical cabling work required to fit an Anaerobic Digestion plant at Swancote Farm, near Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

 

Anaerobic Digestion is a natural process which converts organic matter, such as food waste, animal slurry, and crop residues, into renewable energy. The waste is stored in sealed tanks without any oxygen, where naturally-occurring organisms digest it and release methane-rich biogas, which is used to generate electricity, gas, or heat. The leftover waste material can also be used as a fertilizer packed with nitrates and phosphates.

The Swancote Farm project, which has a capacity of 1MW, was developed and built by German-based biogas plant specialists MT Energie, with Cosgriff Whitehouse Electrical Ltd (CWE) required to install the electrics that connect two initial storage digesters, a secondary digester – which will help maximise biogas production by up to 20% compared to other systems – and two residue storage tanks.

“The system accepts both agricultural waste, such as slurry and maize grown on the farm land, and organic inputs, like food waste from local processing plants to generate electricity,” Peter Whitehouse, Managing Director explained.

New Anaerobic Digestion Plant planned for Shropshire

North Shropshire farmers are proposing to generate green energy from farm waste at Wykey Farm, Ruyton XI Towns.

The proposed plant would generate circa 1100kwh of electricity each hour of
operation (sufficient to supply approximately 1,000 residential properties) and
would utilise approximately 22,900 tonnes of feedstock per annum. 

The preferred supplier for the technology is Marches Biogas, a Shropshire company. 

It is proposed to use cow slurry and energy crops (mainly maize) grown at Wykey Farm as well sourcing more feedstock from local poultry units in the form of chicken manure. This is currently already being brought onto farm and spread on fields in its raw state. 

However the use of Anaerobic Digestion allows this material to first be rotted down to pre-condition it, in many ways improving it and create renewable energy in the process. The resulting compost like material can then still be spread on the land afterwards to confer agricultural benefit, so it seems like a win, win for people and the planet.

Composting Rhubarb leaves

 

 

Can I compost rhubarb leaves?

Alot of people seem to beleive that you shouldnt compost leaves from Rhubarb plants. But this is simply an urban myth - it is not correct.  Actually Rhubarb leaves are perfectly fine to add to your compost heap, they rot down well and produce a quality compost which is good to use for growing any crops. 

The belief probably stems from the fact that the leaves are actually poisonous when eaten.  See although the stalks of the plant are edible and delicious sweated down with sugar in crumbles and pies, the rhubarb leaves contain a high concentration of oxalic acid which is pretty toxic to humans and will make you violently sick if you're crazy enough to try and eat them. 

However when added to a compost heap that oxalic acid is broken down and  diluted.  In our considerable years of combined experience composting rhubarb leaves or other poisonous plants does not inhibit the microbial action of composting.  Even compost piles which were nearly all rhubarb leaves and stalks have decomposed very nicely and the compost has behaved like ordinary compost and no inhibition of plant growth was noticed from the compost. 

Besides which it is reassuring to note that even if there is any trace of residual oxalic acid and soluble oxalates in your compost these are not readily absorbed by the roots of plants.

For more information on composting at home visit www.homecomposting.org.uk 

Shropshire schools food waste recycling project

Leftover food from four schools in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin is being transported to a Shropshire Anaerobic Digestion plant at Harper Adams University and recycled into green energy as part of a pilot scheme that could lead to food waste from all schools in the county being fed into a green energy plant.

Harper Adams University has developed the anaerobic digestion plant at its campus in Telford several years ago.  The AD process converts mainly cow slurry and other organic farm wastes into heat, electricity and natural fertiliser, benefitting the environment.  However by adding in food waste it not only gives the facility an additional income stream (from waste treatment fees) but it actually increases gas yields and thus electricity production at the site.

The project involves waste from four schools; St Andrew’s C.E. School, Idsall School, Shifnal Primary School, and The Charlton School in Wellington, being collected by local recycling firm Cartwrights, which used a grant from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to covert a lorry into one suitable for the safe carriage of food waste.

Bill Campbell, Business Operations Manager at Shropshire Council said: “This is an exciting pilot project, which will allow us to assess the feasibility and ecological benefits of this waste service against its cost.  Shropshire Council is committed to supporting sustainable technology and diverting waste from landfill, so we are really keen to see this type of project rolled out against all of our school kitchens.”

Packington anaerobic digestion facility

Shropshire-based recycling firm SITA UK who run the waste disposal service for Telford & Wrekin and until recently Shropshire have been successful in seeking planning permission for a huge new anaerobic digestion facility in Packington, near Birmingham.  The plant will treat 50,000 tonnes of mixed food and green garden waste from households and businesses around the midlands.

The plans also include the development of polytunnels to make use of the surplus heat from the 1.6MW(e) plant. Furthermore:

• The anaerobic digestion facility will rot down separated organic waste to make compost and renewable energy.
• The facility will be self-sufficient in terms of energy needs, with both electricity and heat being reused in the process.  Surplus renewable electricity shall be supplied to the National Grid.
• Heat will be reused within the digestion process and fed into the polytunnels to help grow food and flowers.
• The compost and liquid digestate will also be used on site for growing.

An area of the polytunnels would be dedicated for use by local schools and community organisations for educating the public and the environmental benefits of composting and horticultural.

Shropshire firm supplies industrial composting facility

Shropshire based firm JACOB (UK) who's UK Headquarters is in Church Stretton, south Shropshire has won a major contract which involved supplying a modular pipework system to an advanced recycling and composting plant in County Durham.

This facility is ‘composting’ on an industrial scale processing 60,000 tonnes of un-segregated household rubbish per year.

Boss Peter Broadhurst explained: “This is a Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant using aerobic digestion to transform bin waste to compost in just 6 days. The plant was modified using modular pipework supplied by Jacob UK to ensure the statutory Animal Health requirements were routinely met.”

Jacob UK engineers worked hard to design and manufacture the galvanised steel pipework to the engineering standards required.

Saving Water - the power of mulch

After the wettest summer on record we can be forgiven for forgetting but water is a precious commodity and needs to be used carefully. Here are a few ideas on how to make the most of it and still carry on gardening successfully.

Make every drop go a bit further

Improve the soil structure in your garden by digging in a soil improver early in the season. Plan this one for next year!

Use quality composts like those produced by Vital Earth with naturally slow moisture and nutrient release – especially in tubs and baskets and container gardening in general

Get a water butt
Collect rainwater from the roof area of sheds, garages and conservatories. We recommend one with a lid on to reduce evaporation. The Council sells specially discounted water butts via www.shropshire.getcomposting.com

Water before planting

Water the bottom of the planting hole thoroughly. The hole will hold water over the root ball of your plant.

Water thoroughly but less often

Frequent small amounts of water tend to encourage roots to the surface and make plants more prone to drought. Try to really get the water down to the roots through a tube if necessary.

Keep weeds under control
Don’t waste water on the weeds! Hoeing between plants will kill off annual weeds but unfortunately it also leads to greater evaporation from the soil surface. So this is where mulching comes in!

Have a good old mulch!

A layer of material spread over the surface of exposed soil will reduce evaporation – as well as suppressing more weeds and insulating roots in colder weather. It also shades the soil and keeps it cooler in the hot weather. You can use any organic matter including straw and grass clippings, but for a more appealing appearance, try bark. Lovely golden pine bark chips will help soil retain moisture six times longer.

Organic matter will also help as it also improves the soil structure. Organic top soil or farm manure will help and remember to dig in any compost from old growbags, containers and baskets, once they are finished with.

Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun....

So says the song and this applies to watering too. Water early morning or evening otherwise the sun and the wind evaporate water from the soil surface and you risk burning your plants.

You can use so-called grey water in the garden ie from baths or washing, but only apply around plants growing directly in the ground or onto lawns – not on container plants.

Plant drought resistant plants

Some plants enjoy dry soils so look out for lavender, geraniums, verbascum, buddleia, achillea, sedums, and spirea.

This article was donated by our composting parters at Vital Earth.

Get composting!

We are urging residents in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin to take advantage of their discount home compost bin scheme which is being run by Getcomposting.com.

Whether you’re a keen gardener or just want to choose the greenest, most natural way to deal with your food and garden waste, composting is the perfect solution.  

Grass cuttings, dried leaves, twigs, cardboard, tea bags and vegetable peelings are just some of the ingredients that can go into a compost bin or heap to make peat-free compost – ideal to use in potting, mulching or planting in your garden or allotment.

Getting started is easy. 

Get composting today – for a greener tomorrow.  Visit www.shropshire.getcomposting.com 

Free coffee grinds for composters

The proprietor of Café Flavour in Shrewsbury Mr. Raz Ahmad, is handing out free bags of used coffee grounds to customers which he claims is a fantastic soil improver when added to gardens and allotments. 

He said: “During the brewing process most of the acidity is removed leaving used grounds at just the right pH level and a good balance between carbon and nitrogen to be a perfect soil additive. By adding grounds directly to garden soil, especially where the intention is to grow nitrogen-loving plants such as most perennials, it can have a really beneficial effect."

It seems a win, win for everyone as its attracting in customers whilst saving the business from paying for expensive commercial waste collection and disposal services and of course its good for the environment because its supporting home composting and organic growing and reducing waste to landfill.

Retired former professional gardener and coffee lover, Michael Jackson, 73, of Shrewsbury, says he is adding used coffee grounds to his own flower beds to help improve the soil.