Horticultural Products
Brier Hills Recycling produces a quality supply of products year round:
- Composts in varying grades
- Woodchips in various sizes/colours
- Mulches in varying colours
BSI PAS 100 and the Quality Compost Protocol certification was achieved in 2008.
Full compost analysis and guidance leaflets are available. The different products that are produced are suitable for different applications.
Key features of the compost include slow-release nutrients, moisture retention, and structural improvements. The Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium content of the compost is considerable. The NPK value alone of the compost at May fertiliser equivalent prices would value the product at over £520 per hectare at 30 tonnes per hectare.
The compost also has an added liming factor which can reduce the liming costs.
Use in agriculture:
Trials conducted on land that has had compost applied-to, give encouraging results. The addition of compost will aid soil structure enabling it to cope with extremes of dry/wet weather. In addition, costs can be saved by using less inorganic fertiliser.
The compost has been used on Brier Hills Recycling Ltd's own farmland for 10 years and has proven very successful in raising soil index levels, soil organic matter, earthworm activity and as a result, has seen improvements in the crop production.
The application rates are restricted to approximately 30t/hectare. This means that repeated applications have provided excellent results in performance across a range of crops.
Use in land regeneration / reclamation:
The compost is suitable for use in land remediation/reclamation projects ie restoration of former colliery sites and other brownfield areas. Brier Hills Recycling has supplied compost to a number of regional regeneration schemes such as Smithy Wood, Brookfield Park, Silver Wood, and Frickley Colliery all former colliery sites that have a range of end uses such as public open space, business parks, and amenity woodland.
The compost used for these trials has been screened to a 40mm grade which is ideal for breaking up heavy colliery shale and poor soils, whilst also adding slow-release nutrients, water holding capacity, and improved drainage properties.
Use in landscaping
Tree Planting:
Brier Hills Recycling 30mm compost has a mixture of particle sizes which is produced for blending in soil tree pits. The courser texture is ideally suited to breaking up the soil around tree roots and the slow release nutrients help to establish trees successfully.
Mulching:
Brier Hills Recycling 30mm compost is an ideal mulch to apply to a minimum depth of 6 – 8 inches around beds and tree planting. The mulch will suppress weed growth making maintenance easier as well as acting as a slow-release nutrient source. It is not suitable for Ericaceous plant species.
Soil Conditioner:
Brier Hills Recycling 10mm and 30mm composts are ideal for blending and mixing into soils that need a boost. Particularly for heavy clay soils or light sandy soils.
Topsoil:
A range of topsoil is available including various compost and soil blends. The two topsoil ranges are sandy soils and high organic matter soils available in different particle size ranges typically 10mm and 30mm however.
