Waste Options Nantucket makes products for beneficial re-use. What are they?

The Nantucket landfill and WON’s operations take materials delivered from the public and commercial vendors to use as ingredients to produce several products for re-use: 

  1. Co-Compost Facility Compost (also known as Nantucket Natural Compost) is a blend of dewatered sludge (residuals) from the WWTF that are processed through a composter to create biosolids, Compostable Waste (Municipal Solid Waste-MSW), and leaf/yard waste. This material is regulated for reuse under an Approval of Suitability permit by MassDEP, and currently this material is not provided for public use.  
  2. Leaf/Yard Waste Compost, combination of grass clippings, leaves, very small branches and twigs and plant material (with no soil). This material is stockpiled, screened to separate materials by size, and placed into windrows. The material is then screened again and windrowed before distribution. The majority of leaf/yard waste is delivered to the Landfill Facility by landscapers with some directly from homeowners in smaller quantities. The vast majority of this material is from maintenance of homeowner gardens, lawns, etc.
  3. Mulch, a blend of branches, stumps and other wood material from trees, pallets, and other clean wood waste, and large plants. This material is stockpiled in raw form until it is chipped with a grinder. Once chipped, the material is screened to remove the fines.  Some of this material will be screened a second time to make a double ground mulch.   The rest remains in a single ground mulch. Both are placed into windrows before distribution. The majority of this material is delivered by landscapers and commercial haulers from homeowners or sites on the Island being developed. 
  4. Mixed Excavation Waste, the majority of this material is from homeowner properties and consists of natural soils found on the Island that also contains clay, large inert materials such as stones, bricks, large branches, etc. This material is primarily used as a bulking agent to make topsoil or other soil blends. The material is screened to separate by size before being used as a bulking agent. At times, a high-grade sand can be extracted by screening the material depending on where on the Island it originated.  Most of this material is delivered from commercial haulers from new construction sites or existing structures.
  5. Topsoil, a blend of leaf/yard (compost) mixed with screened mixed excavation material or high-grade sand (special orders) at 2:1 to 3:1 ratio of mixed excavation material to leaf/yard.
  6. Sand, a product occasionally produced depending on what gets delivered for Mixed Excavation Waste.
Product
PFAS Testing Required by MassDEP
Currently Available for Public Use?
Leaf/Yard Waste Compost
NoYes
MulchNo
Yes
TopsoilNo
Yes
Co-compost/Nantucket Natural Compost
Yes
No (unavailable starting August 2019)

Show All Answers

1. What can residents, businesses, and visitors can do to prevent exposure to PFAS?
2. Should I stop growing and eating vegetables using co-compost that may have PFAS?
3. Can I water my plants and garden with PFAS-contaminated water and eat that produce?
4. How can I limit my exposure to PFAS in my garden?
5. What are the PFAS levels in fertilizer and other soil products coming onto the Island?
6. Waste Options Nantucket makes products for beneficial re-use. What are they?
7. Is it safe to shower using domestic well water that contains PFAS?
8. Is it safe for me to bathe my baby using domestic (private) well water that contains PFAS?
9. What can I do as a private well owner to remove PFAS from my water?
10. Am I at risk if I drink or drank water with PFAS above health standards?
11. Is there a way to test my or my family’s blood serum levels for PFAS?