TAIS Compost Lab Test Results
Trito Agro-Industrial Services (TAIS) creates quality compost for agricultural and landscaping use from food waste they collect from residential and commercial sources in Puerto Rico. They use a bokashi method (which they cleverly call “borikashi”) to ferment the food waste and combine it with wood chips and other high-carbon components for hot composting in windrows.
We received several meters of nearly finished, un-sifted compost from TAIS. We let the compost age for approximately thirty additional days on-farm before sifting it through a 1/2-inch screen and sending it for testing. The lab testing was performed by the University of Pennsylvania Extension adhering to US Composting Council (USCC) Seal of Testing Assurance (STA), which specific standards for pathogen reduction and metal limits as defined by EPA 503.
Test results are excellent, showing a clean, nutritional compost suitable for containers, raised beds, and in-field use. EPA 503 pollutants and fecal coliform all reported significantly below allowed levels.
Complete results are available in PDF form.
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Are you a commercial composter in Puerto Rico?
Please let us know at info@levantando.org so we can learn about you and let our network of growers and producers know about your product..
This laboratory testing is expensive. The lab tests run $375, plus overnight shipping with morning delivery of the sample on-ice runs another $100+. Staff time to navigate APHIS approval to ship compost to the US requires several hours of hoop-jumping. To the best of our knowledge, most commercial composters do not regularly test their products, which puts the risk of poor quality on the backs of growers. Levantando.org is pleased to be able to offer the testing and results as part of our mission to serve small, sustainable farmers and communities in Puerto Rico. If you would like to help defray these costs with a donation, your help is appreciated.
