Vital Earth back in business

The North Shropshire commercial composting unit near Market Drayton, Vital Earth Ltd. is fully operational after back-to-back fires disrupted operations in late 2010.   The site is used to compost the mixed garden waste, food waste and cardboard collected from households wheeled bins in North and South Shropshire.   



This demonstrates the complexity and risk involved with commercial composting, the exothermic nature of the composting process means it always gets very hot.   Because this site is an enclosed (in-vessel) operation it is specifically designed to get the waste very hot (to kill of any pathogens associated with the food waste).

Over 100 tonnes of compost was destroyed in the fire which broke out in the early hours of the morning and raged throughout the night.  It required 5 fire engines from Market Drayton, Newport, Wem, Whitchurch and Telford to put the fire out so it was obviously a pretty serious incident but fortunately everything seems to be resolved now.

The main 100ft long barn where the composting operation takes place is predominantly of brick construction and so it survived the fire intact.     

Steve Harper, managing director of Vital Earth Ltd, said the fire was due to smouldering compost and was quickly put out.  We have fully cooperated with the fire brigade investigation and put in place procedures to reduce the risk of future occurances.  We are now fully operational again and accepting deliveries of compostable household waste from Shropshire households once again.