The organics industry has quickly expanded itself in our economy as a bountiful market to tap into. With regulations becoming a more prominent factor in the U.S and Canada, the demand for recycling processing equipment has established a presence that is here to stay.

All Treat Farms, located in Arthur, Ontario, has been part of the evolution and organics trend since 1955, starting with something as simple and re-known as composting manure. Over the past 60 years, they have witnessed various components of the industry that have evolved today, what was then, nowhere to be found including; technology for odor control,  processing equipment, composting rules and regulations as well as the market as a whole.

Starting with something as basic as recycling cattle manure for composting, they have now expanded into processing leaf and yard, SSO, Digestate and ICI. All Treat Farms is currently using the high powered DW3080E2 variable speed, slow-speed shredder from the Ecoverse product line to process these applications.  “It does a nice job shredding and blending without balling everything up; creating a uniform product that is mixed properly.  It helps keep the structure so it is easier to compost and keeps it anaerobic,” says All Treat Farms president, George White.

Another prominent feature of the DW is it being electrical, which allows for more capacity and throughput. “All you need to do is push a button. You don’t have to worry about warming up the equipment and changing the oil. It reduced our emissions, noise and allowed us to blend and mix the product better than before when we were using a diesel machine. It allows for higher capacity and throughput with less downtime and less maintenance,” says White.

The DW3080E2 includes breakaway combs that have the capability to handle contaminants without stopping the operation. “The shredder is what we wanted it for and it does what we thought it would do,” White states.

Although we cannot truly predict the future, White has no doubt the organics recycling industry will continue to expand. “It’s going to happen, no question about it.” He sees AD becoming more prominent in the industry, however, still believes there will be aerobic composting. “In Ontario, I don’t see a lot of new compost facilities being setup. The regulations have become so difficult to live with that I cannot see any large scale composters in the future here. However, the composting is here to stay and so is AD,” says White.

Ecoverse’s product offering is continuing to expand in the market. White had the opportunity to visit one of their product lines’ headquarters this year, and was able to witness just how far they have come. “I have been to the Doppstadt plant in Germany twice now and it is impressive; it is up to date and modernized. It is evident how open they are to experimenting with different ideas to meet market demands. I see the creativeness and they have the equipment, plant and people to do it,” he concludes.