Compost is a natural product ensuing from the controlled biological decomposition of organic material that has been sterilized through the generation of heat and stabilized to the point that it is beneficial to plant growth. Compost bears no physical similarity to the raw material (feedstock) from which it originated. Compost is an organic matter material that has the ability to improve the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of soils or growing media. It contains nutrients essential for plant growth, but compost is not characterized as a fertilizer.
Compost is produced using naturally occurring aerobic (oxygen requiring) microorganisms. These microbes require oxygen, moisture, and food in order to function and replicate. When oxygen, moisture, and food are maintained at optimal levels, the decomposition process is greatly accelerated. The microbes generate heat, water vapor, and carbon dioxide as they transform the feedstocks into a stable soil conditioner. Active composting is typically characterized by a high temperature phase that sterilizes the product, accelerating decomposition, followed by a lower temperature phase that allows the product to stabilize while decomposing at a lower rate (maturation phase). Compost can be produced from many feedstocks. The Town of Amherst's compost is produced from leaves, grass, and ground mixed yard waste (brush and grass). The facility is regulated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Benefits of using compost
- Improves the soil structure, porosity, and density, creating a better plant root environment
- Increases infiltration and permeability of heavy soils, reducing erosion and runoff
- Improves water holding capacity, reducing water loss and leaching in sandy soils
- Supplies a variety of nutrients
- May control or suppress certain plant pathogens
- Supplies significant quantities of organic matter
- Improves cation exchange capacity of soils and growing media, improving their ability to hold nutrients for plant use
- Supplies beneficial microorganisms to soils and growing media
- Improves and stabilizes soil pH
- Can bind and degrade specific pollutants
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