Compost Site Facilities
Additional Information

Composting and Contaminants

Incoming feedstock is checked for contaminants prior to composting.

Abington Township picks up leaves curbside using leaf vacuum machines during the months of October, November and December.

Leaves can be raked curbside or placed in brown biodegradable bags. The residents are instructed not to mix trash or any other debris with leaves.

Crews using leaf vacuum units are not permitted to pick up leaves if materials other than leaves are found. Personnel at Abington's composting facility are responsible for inspecting all incoming material for contamination. After inspection, Abington Township has the right and will reject any load containing materials other than leaves. Any landscaper abusing this policy results in his company losing dumping privileges for the entire season.

From April through December, residents put leaves and yard waste into brown biodegradable paper bags and place them curbside for collection. These materials are accepted only in 30 gallon brown biodegradable paper bags. No leaves or yard waste bagged in plastic is taken. NO DIRT, rocks, stumps, large branches, construction material, animal waste, bags, boxes or garbage can be put into these bags. Any unacceptable material set out for collection is left at the curbside and tagged with a rejection sticker. This provides a preliminary screening of contaminants by the collector prior to being taken to the composting facility.

Brush and tree limbs must be bundled and tied. The bundles can be no bigger then 3 foot long and 3 inches in diameter. Holiday trees are collected in January. All trimmings must be removed. No tree will be accepted in a plastic bag.

We use a windrow composting machine to turn the piles. A unique function of the machine is that it deposits any solid contaminants that we may have missed in the initial inspection to the outside of the pile where it is removed.

Timeframe

Both loose leaves and bagged leaves arrive at the yard from October through December.  Yard waste is collected in Abington Township March through December. The process of composting begins immediately.  The compost is ready for distribution to the public beginning in late April.  The majority of the yard waste to be composted is generated in a short period in the fall.  The yard waste may require stockpiling during this period until the mechanical processing can catch up with the rate of yard waste collection.  The approximate duration of the composting cycle is 120 to 180 days.  The curing period for compost is 30 to 90 days.  The time required for storage and distribution is 90 days.  The total time required for composting is 130-360 days.