Compost comes of age

WRAP has published new guidance outlining good practice for the use of quality compost across a range of building, civil engineering, landscaping and regeneration projects.

‘The Good Practice Guide for the use of BSI PAS 100 Compost in Landscape and Regeneration’ is available both online and to download from the WRAP website.

Based on evidence gathered by WRAP over the last four years, the compost good-practice guide provides a wealth of information which aims to strengthen confidence in the natural organic growing medium, and increase its use.

Written to help both new and regular users of quality compost understand how best to use the material, the easy-to-use practical guide outlines the environmental and business cases for using compost and the associated savings in areas such as: soil manufacture and habitat creation; Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS); slope stabilization and erosion control; landscape maintenance; and bio-remediation.

Primarily an online resource, the guide will be updated on an ongoing basis with additional case studies and information as it arises through WRAP’s continuing landscape and regeneration work.

Paul Mathers, programme manager landscape & regeneration with WRAP, explained: ‘BSI PAS 100 compost is widely available throughout the UK. Armed with this new guidance and access to local producers, we are confident that more businesses will realize the advantages of using BSI PAS 100 compost, whatever their area of expertise.

‘The Compost Good Practice Guide pulls together all the evidence we have gathered over the past few years. It outlines good practice across a range of landscape and regeneration applications and will be of interest to lots of potential users, many of whom may not realize the economic and environmental benefits of compost.’

The Compost Good Practice Guide and accompanying technical documents are available on the WRAP website: http://www.wrap.org.uk/farming_growing_and_landscaping/landscape_and_design/good_practice_guide

Details of UK-wide BSI PAS 100 compost producers can be found on the WRAP Compost Suppliers Tool: http://compostsuppliers.wrap.org.uk/