Do you know that you can do communal composting with your neighbours?
What does communal composting mean?
Communal composting is a relatively new phenomenon. A group of people (a community, residential block, gardening colony etc.) unites under the common objective to collect biowaste and compost it and later utilize in the area of its origin.
Communal composting can be done by several households living in neighbourhoods, employees of a company, school etc. Communal composting is being successfully developed in the UK and Switzerland.
In the Czech Republic communal composting is defined by the amendment to Waste Act (Act 314/2006 coll., which amends Waste Act no. 185/2001 coll.). It defines the conditions under which communal composting can be realized and specifies the sorts of waste that can be utilized in this way in towns and municipalities, in particular.
Communal composting can be realized by DIY communities on the premises where the system of separate biowaste has not yet been introduced. Communal composting sites can thus be established by firms and organization for composting their own waste.
Positive experience from Hradec Králové
In Hradec Králové the project of communal composting is being successfully developed. About 8000m3 of biodegradable material is produced (wood, grass, leaves, organic substances from recycling centres etc.).
This material is further processed into substrate (woodchips), which is used:
- for reclamation and fertilization of green spaces,
- for increasing the amount of humus in soil,
- for improving the physical properties of soil,
- as replacement of soil when trees are planted.
The purity of the processed material, i.e. the absence of any other non-degradable or harmful substances, is essential for successful processing of biomass.
