Sustainability: composting in action
Friday 30 January, 2009
With landfill reduction firmly on the environmental agenda for 2009, we are pleased to say our N-viro cup is increasing in popularity and usage.
Made of compostable paperboard material, harvested from sustainable sources under the management of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the N-viro cups can be collected via the Save a Cup scheme. On arrival at industrial composting facilities, they are then broken down into compost, and used later in agricultural areas across the UK.
Commercial composting can be done in two ways, either using anaerobic or aerobic methods. The anaerobic method uses microbes that do not use oxygen to break down the organic matter, whilst the aerobic process does use oxygen to break down the waste. Wood chips or other similar matter is added to ensure air pockets provide oxygen to the microbes.
During composting micro-organisms convert biodegradable organic matter into a stable residue – compost. Although home and commercial composting are the same in principle, different methods are used.