Commercial Composting Guide
Guides for every stage of a composting project
Each guide below works through one question in full: how a method works, how to choose between approaches, or how to buy, fund and deliver a facility. They are written for facility operators, solid waste and wastewater staff, and the engineers who advise them. Regulatory facts link to the agency that publishes them.
Looking for ranked comparisons or short answers instead? See the composting lists and the FAQs.
Learn the basics
How commercial composting works, what the rules ask for, and how each feedstock behaves.
Aerated Static Pile Composting, The Complete Guide
How aerated static pile composting works, from pile build, aeration floors and blowers to covers, pathogen rules and how ASP compares with windrows.
Biosolids Composting for Wastewater Utilities
How biosolids composting works under 40 CFR Part 503, covering Class A and B, PFRP time and temperature, vector attraction, bulking agents and outlets.
Compost Facility Odor Management Guide
How compost odors form, how they are measured with olfactometry, what an odor management plan must cover, and how to log and answer neighbor complaints.
Compost Process Control, Oxygen, Temperature, Moisture and C:N
Target ranges for oxygen, temperature, moisture and carbon to nitrogen ratio in composting, how feedback aeration holds them, and what records to keep.
Composting at Landfills, Adding Organics Processing to an Existing Site
Why landfill owners add composting and how to do it, from siting on or beside closed cells to settlement, landfill gas, leachate, stormwater and permits.
Composting Digestate, A Guide for Anaerobic Digester Operators
How to compost solid digestate from an anaerobic digester, covering moisture, ammonia, bulking, dewatering, pathogen rules, product quality and site layout.
How to Start a Commercial Composting Facility
A step-by-step plan for starting a commercial composting facility, from feedstock and market studies through site, technology, permits, funding and startup.
Manure Composting for Dairies and Feedlots
How dairies and feedlots compost manure, covering C:N and bulking, NRCS practice standard 317, nutrient plans, pathogens, weed seeds, bedding and air rules.
Organics Diversion and Food Waste Laws by State
State organics diversion and food waste laws as of October 2026, with who is covered, thresholds, dates and what each law means for composting capacity.
PFAS and Biosolids
Where EPA and the states stand on PFAS in biosolids as of October 2026, why composting does not destroy PFAS, and what it means for each biosolids outlet.
Compare your options
Design, permitting, emission control and operating choices, set side by side with where each one fits and where it does not.
Compost Facility Design Guide for Layout, Pads, Aeration and Water
How to design a compost facility: size it from tonnage with a worked example, then lay out receiving, pads, aeration, water controls, curing and storage.
Compost Facility Lifecycle Cost and What Drives It Over 15 Years
The capital, operating and replacement cost drivers of a compost facility over 15 years, compared by technology, with a method for a fair comparison.
Compost Facility Permitting Guide for Solid Waste, Air and Water
How compost facility permits work: solid waste, air and water approvals, with California as the worked example, plus Washington and Oregon rules.
Compost Facility Staffing and Operator Training Guide
Roles, daily tasks, safety training and operator certifications for a commercial compost facility, plus a training plan for a new site from hiring to year 1.
Composting in Wet, Cold and Arid Climates
How rain, freezing weather and dry heat change compost facility design and daily operation, with design checks, a comparison table and four project examples.
Converting a Windrow Site to Covered ASP
What changes when a turned windrow compost site converts to covered aerated static piles: footprint, pads, equipment, labor, water, permits and phasing.
Covers vs Biofilters vs Enclosed Buildings for Compost Emission Control
Compare membrane covers, negative aeration with a biofilter, and enclosed buildings for compost emission control: mechanism, footprint, energy and upkeep.
How to Run a Composting Pilot
A step-by-step plan for a composting pilot, covering what to test, how long to run it, the data a board, permit or grant needs, and how to scale the results.
Positive vs Negative Aeration in ASP Composting
An engineer’s comparison of positive and negative aeration in ASP composting, covering airflow, condensate, biofilters, energy, corrosion and control.
Solar-Powered and Off-Grid Composting
When solar and battery power make sense for an aerated compost site, how to size the electrical load, and how off-grid compares with the grid and generators.
Plan your purchase
Choosing a system, writing the RFP, funding the project and knowing what delivery looks like.
Composting System Buyer’s Guide for Municipalities
A buying guide for cities and counties. Forecast tonnage, test the site, choose who operates, pilot, procure and take a composting system to the board.
Composting System Buyer’s Guide for Private Composters and Haulers
How private composters and haulers choose a composting system, from feedstock contracts and contamination to throughput per acre, permits and phased growth.
Composting System Buyer’s Guide for Wastewater Utilities
How a wastewater utility decides on biosolids composting. Covers outlet risk, the Class A goal, plant footprint, fence-line odor, amendment and distribution.
Composting Technology RFP Guide – What to Specify and How to Evaluate
How to write a composting technology RFP that any vendor can answer, with performance specs, required evidence, scoring criteria and a site visit checklist.
How to Fund a Compost Facility with Grants, Loans and Leasing
How to stack grants, revolving fund loans, bonds, fee-backed finance and leasing to fund a compost facility, with program status as of October 2026.
Lease vs Buy Composting Equipment
When leasing composting equipment fits and when buying does, what public agencies must check, and the questions to ask before you sign any lease agreement.
SG BUNKER® vs SG HEAP® vs SG MOBILE® – Which System Fits Your Site
Compare the three Sustainable Generation covered ASP layouts by tonnage, site, permanence and timeline, and see where none of them is the right choice.
From Contract to Commissioning – How an SG Composting Project Is Delivered
A phase-by-phase account of how a Sustainable Generation composting project runs, with what the owner does and what SG does from first study to startup.
Not sure where your project sits?
The SG team will take the call, whether you are planning a new facility or fixing one that is already running.