municipal compost horrors?

I read with shock details on another forum about what goes into municipal waste which is then composted and sold. I have recently had a ton of the stuff delivered and is now all over the garden.The particular thread mentioned the fact that the waste is made from contents of peoples green bins and stuff and that things like doggy pooh and barbecue remains and bits of tannellised wood are probably included. Along with stuff from sewage works. There is no way you could call me organic as i use most things in a vain attempt to get my precious plants to adulthood unscathed but the thought that i have put sewage remains and composted doogy poo on my garden just revolts me. I am oing to mail the company responsible for the recycling to see if they can shed any light on it but what are other gardeners thoughts on using municipal compost?

 

Hi LG,

Couldn't say that it would bother me what went on as long as it was safe, well rotted, good for the plants etc.. if there are unknown chemicals and other nasties hiding in there, THEN I would have a problem! :D

Cheers,

Dave

 

Health & Safety regulations are now so stringent I doubt if any municipal authority would risk supplying members of the public with a product that was not safe to use.
If the materials have been properly composted any nasties will have been killed off.

It's a good idea to contact the company for information LG . I hope you'll post a synopsis of their reply as you are not the only person to have reservations about municipal compost.

 

Completely agree with both Daves - unlikely to be any real problems, but, as has been said by several of us on another thread - we're a bit cncerned about whether some of the real nasties, like honey fungus, can be properly removed by the composting procedures they use. They SHOULD be, as the heat is intense, but it's a niggling worry.

 

I think composted doggy poo is only a varient on composted horsey poo. I must admit it sounds revolting - but a lot of nature is if you look too close.

As Dendrobium says, be positive and think of the high temperatures that municiple composts heaps can reach (by virtue of their size) that you cannot achieve in your own compost.

 

Believe it or not, most golf courses and municpal grass areas are often fertilised with sewerage waste. It is a non smelling black material which is STERILE. The only problem we ever met from it was the huge number of tomato seedlings which used to appear every spring.

 

would you not think that if it were truly sterile there would be no viable tomato seeds,
i did once interview for a job with transorganics which supplies sewerage waste, i was concerned about the heavy metal contamination, not a subject which has been aired widely

 

someone was just asking yesterday about tesing your soil for that sort f thing - wouldn't it be good if somebody could come up with something reliable to do just that!

 

Just done a Google search, and found this:

http://www.apexcompost.co.uk to see who they represent, if it's yours....

then click on 'quality standards' at the very bottom:

Heavy metals tested monthly, don't know if that makes anybody feel any better? :( :( :(

 

Well, it's certainly good that they actually test for it! Impressive stuff! But they don't appear to have a level for testing for the heavy metals or "others"??

 

I think I would be more worried about weed seeds than anything else in compost.
They've just started selling it local to me and was thinking about buying some, last load of so called horse manure I bought had masses of weed seeds in it, kinda put me off.
If this stuff is properly composted then the seeds should be killed off, I dont mind the odd bit of dog poo, as long as its not still in the inorganic plastic bag. :D

 

:D nice one pete2255 :D

Would an organic bag do then? :D

I know that some authorities are offering recycled compost free, but my local authority wants �£3 per 40 litre bag!!!
Not very encouraging for recycling is it?

Mind you, there is the odd dog poo! :D

 

Most authorities sell it as a SOIL IMPROVER, and not as a COMPOST, to them it is composted waste, also most areas steam sterilise the stuff
it is fine if you use it as an improver, or top dressing for borders etc; but it is not very good for containers, or using as a fill when planting shrubs etc..

 

Yeah I think the word compost has different and confusing meanings rossco.
I meant compost as in compost heap, not compost as in potting compost.
If its steam steralised I suppose it should be OK, but that must be a massively expensive process.

 

It's fantastic for digging into solid clay where drainage is a major issue - that's my priority at the moment. not ideal for putting into pots, tho!