Dr. Meaghan Wilton

Wood Shavings

The Use of High Carbon Materials as Bulking Agents

Quality compost usually consists of three components  – the primary substrate, amendments, and bulking agents. The primary substrate is the waste of interest to be decomposed (e.g. food waste or animal mortalities). Amendments are mixed with the primary substrate to balance the compost’s carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N between 25:1 to 30:1) and regulate moisture. Bulking agents …

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Red Wiggler Worms

Vermiculture Field Trip

Different methods can be used to create compost. Many of our blog posts have provided details on hot (active) composting to support Actium equipment best practices. The other composting method we discussed for comparison is the slower “set it and forget” cold (passive) composting method. An additional way to decompose organic matter is through vermiculture. …

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Quality Standard Stamp

Compost Quality Standards

Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment (CCME) Quality standards for Selling and Distributing Compost in Canada Composting is a natural process; however, it was not until the 1990s that medium to large-scale composting technologies became a public interest (Golueke and Diaz, 1996; Zheng et al., 2020). During the nineties, the public became more concerned and …

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Lignin and Other Carbon Sources for Composting

The Details in the Carbon Wood shavings, dried grasses, leaves, straws, stalks, and paper products are plant dry matter commonly added to compost as “browns” for their carbon richness. Brown materials aid in effectively decomposing nitrogen-rich (a.k.a. “greens”) waste products such as manure, food waste, and animal mortalities. In addition, brown materials are used as …

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Composting in the Subarctic – Moisture

Regulating Compost Moisture during Hot Composting Hot composting is most effective at decomposing organic waste when moisture levels are approximately 50%.  A compost with excessive moisture will cause Excessive moisture while composting does not provide a viable environment for aerobic decomposers to thrive. Too much moisture reduces the oxygen supply to aerobic decomposers; as a …

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