Blaenau Ffestiniog site diary

Begins in August 2005........

25 August

We load our EcoPOD in-vessel composters at our composting site within the quarry at Blaenau Ffestiniog. We're using green waste (pre-shredded), tertiary treated sewage cake and de-inking paper pulp and mixing them in a cattle feed mixer wagon to give the desired carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and moisture content. The finished compost will be used to try and restore bare (trial) areas of the quarry to heather moorland and upland acidic grassland. We want to find out whether compost is suitable for use as a substitute for upland soil and whether this restoration technique might be adopted at a larger scale at this and other quarries.

Loading feedstock wastes into the EcoPOD composting vessels via a cattle feed mixer wagon.

Rhidian inspects our new mixer wagon.

05 - 06 December

We spread the finished composts on the marked plots using a telescopic handler and a tracked excavator. Once spread, the plots will be sown with a mixture of either upland acidic grasses or heather (Calluna vulgaris). We will then record germination and monitor plant and insect numbers and diversity for the next 2 years.

Before...

During...

Finished!!