Montgomery County Compost Facility: Online Tour

Compost Facility home


	Tub Grinding


	Material Delivery


	Composting


	Screening


	Bagging

Composting

Photo: Backhus compost turner straddles a row of yard trim material.

The composting process essentially begins in the Fall, when leaves are received from the curbside collection and leaf vacuuming programs.

After initial shredding, the leaves are deposited into long piles, called windrows, approximately eight feet high and ten feet wide. The Montgomery County Compost Facility uses six front end loaders to deposit the material into windrows. In the spring, grass begins to arrive in large quantities, and is added to the existing rows of leaves, received the previous Fall. The ratio of grass to leaves can vary from 1-to-1 to 1-to-2.

Overhead shot of several Windrows at the Composting Facility Over the summer, the material composts. It is consolidated into large piles in September and October. During this time, the windrows are monitored for temperature and oxygen content, and are periodically turned to speed up the composting process. The windrows are turned using Backhus and Scarab turners.

Last edited: 5/6/2008