ComposTex compost covers are a completely breathable, non-woven fabric made of 100% UV-resistant polypropylene that sheds rainfall from covered windrows which reduces odors, leachate, and costs.
Although it's counterintuitive that a breathable fabric could shed rainfall, this is accomplished through capillary action, gravity, and the properties of cohesion and surface tension between water molecules.
ComposTex has been used on thousands of compost projects around the world since 1994. The most common use of ComposTex is to protect active, curing and finished compost piles from excess rainfall.
Thank you for the helpful and honest advice. We had been using ComposTex to both protect our compost piles from heavy rainfall, and to reduce moisture loss in the summer. But after reading your article “Moisture Management – the Key To Successful Composting” and hearing your suggestions to preserve the life of our covers, we’ll now try some other methods for reducing moisture loss in the summer, including using shade cloth. It’s obvious that you really care about farmers’ work and are not just trying to make a quick buck, which is really appreciated in these crazy times.
We had used ComposTex covers in a food waste composting demonstration/reserach trial in the winter of 1999. The composting system was a turned windrow system processing vegetable waste [fresh cuts of lettuce, onions, cabbage, etc] blended with a bulking agent [wood chips or synthetic bulking agents]. The purpose of using the compost covers was to prevent infestation with fly larvae and rain water infiltration of the windrows. Although we did not quantitatively evaluate these benefits, based on qualitative observations we concluded that these two objectives were met.
"We produce about 2,000 tons per year of biolsolids from our 9 mgd wastewater treatment plant. Using an aerated static pile system, we produce a Class A compost which is distributed to the public. We started using ComposTex three years ago as an alternative to insulating our 20 compost piles with wood chips. Because this fabric both provides the insulation we need and speeds up the drying process, we've determined that they paid for themselves within the first six months. We're presently expanding our biosolids composting program and ComposTex is an integral part of this expansion."
Using ComposTex covers has greatly improved compost quality and efficiency at every compost facility that I’ve worked at, including both “turned windrows” and ASP. The covers allow for effective moisture management, which drastically improves efficiency during screening, and helps to create a high quality finished compost with a perfect moisture content. I especially like the fact that ComposTex is available in “custom” sizes which has enabled me to protect windrows and curing piles of any size.
Using ComposTex covers has greatly improved compost quality and efficiency at every compost facility that I’ve worked at, including both “turned windrows” and ASP. The covers allow for effective moisture management, which drastically improves efficiency during screening, and helps to create a high quality finished compost with a perfect moisture content. I especially like the fact that ComposTex is available in “custom” sizes which has enabled me to protect windrows and curing piles of any size.
We've just completed using ComposTex covers for a season and they've been excellent. They shed water really well and are very light weight and durable in comparison to other materials we've tried. We will be ordering more covers soon.
When we began looking for a biosolids composting cover, we considered several options before deciding to buy ComposTex. By keeping the piles from getting too wet from the rain, these covers have done exactly what we needed them to do.
