Laurie never uses bio-solids in his composting process because of their potential for containing residual toxins. For example, cooking oil, and waste from fish and chip shops. Laurie says:

“The biological part of the oil will break down but what of the residual? What happens to the heavy metals that have come out of the fish or seafood? The fat could have arsons and other toxins in it and how much of those residual toxins would remain in the compost to end up in the soil?”

Food residue poses health risks so Laurie prefers to compost food residue separately. He “smoulder” burns food residue to speed up the decomposition and purify it before adding it to his compost heaps.

The presence of harmful bacteria in dog and cat manure poses health risks so Laurie never uses dog or cat litter in his compost. He advises the use of horse manure where possible or cow manure if horse manure is not available.

Once you have created your compost, or if you are considering buying compost, you can check it visually to see how good the quality is. According to Laurie:

“A good compost is very dark (depending on the feedstock used). It has none of the original material showing in it. It will have a sweet, earthy, smell to it and it will have been screened of trash (large sticks or chunks of wood etc).”

Ask the retailer how long the compost was cured for. Laurie says a good compost will have been cured for at least a month (the longer the better).

Last, but certainly not least, Laurie advises that a good quality compost will have “a nice, crumbly, feel to it.”