Kent Science Park has been using a machine to compact down all of its garden waste. The high-tech piece of kit has been used to reduce waste to a manageable size, so it can be left to decompose for use as compost on the Park in 6-9 months time.
The waste compacted equates to approximately 250 cubic metres of compost, which will be used on 2,500 – 3,000 square metres of shrub beds across the Park. This compost helps in producing moisture and encourages re-growth of the existing shrubbery and planting, all the while creating a better environment for new shrubs to be planted.
The ultimate goal of this project is for Kent Science Park to become fully sustainable, recycling and reusing its own waste across the site, so that it doesn’t have to go into landfill. It is also an eco-friendly way of reducing costs, as the Park will no longer need to buy in compost for use on the shrubbery, or pay to have the waste disposed of.
Paul Figg of Nurture Landscapes, who are carrying out the project, explained, “This is an incredibly important project and one that is invaluable in ensuring the ultimate goal of sustainability at KSP. Our first attempt was highly successful and we must now wait for the first batch of compost to be ready. When we use the machine again, the next step will be to separate the waste into different categories, so that we can use it to target specific areas across the Park.”
Stephen Moore, Facilities Manager at KSP, commented on the purpose of the project, ”This is a much more eco-friendly way of carrying out essential grounds maintenance on the Park, as we are no longer depositing our garden waste into landfill. Being such a big site, it is important that we strive to find sustainable technologies and processes that enable us to reuse what we already have. In this case, the processed mulch will be useful as an organic fertiliser on the Park’s planting in the future.”