The Composting Process

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Municipal waste water treatment plants concentrate organic wastes and produce a sludge of biosolids. We transport this material from the sewage plants in specially constructed trailers and trucks.

Another specialized truck is shown here unloading sewage sludge. Our trucks are built with heated bodies, sealed gates and spill resistant covers and numerous other safeguards.

Mascaro composts year round indoors in state-of-the-art facilities like the Brooke County Compost facility shown here. This modern plant , located in West Virginia, has an enclosed compost area larger than six football fields.

A&M Compost, located in Lancaster County, PA, has more than five acres under roof. It is where we pioneered biofiltration technology to remove odor from the composting process.

A feeling for the size of the compost buildings is offered by this picture of a giant earth mover entering one of the 21 foot high doors at Brooke County Compost Facility.

When the sludge arrives at one of our plants (in this case A&M Compost) it is weighed and then unloaded.

Wood chips like these are used as a bulking agent. They are combined with the sludge to make a mixture that air can easily flow through.

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Chips and sludge are mixed and prepared for composting. During composting, the biosolids are broken down and their nutrients made available for plants. The works is done by bacteria.

Inside the compost building, temperature and humidity are electronically monitored and controlled. The compost is aerated both by turning and by forcing air through it.

After the composting, which takes about 60 days, the material is screened using a machine like the one shown here. This removes the uncomposted parts of the wood chips, and readies the compost for use.

The finished compost may be used for a wide range of landscaping, soil enhancement and horticultural applications.