Composting is a "Green" and environmentally sound method of recycling and reusing waste materials that enjoys widespread societal support.
J. P. Mascaro & Sons, a well-known local waste service company that provides trash and recycling services for its many municipal, commercial and industrial customers, is also a recognized leader in the composting industry in Pennsylvania.
Mascaro's DEP-permitted 455,000 square foot A&M Composting facility in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is the largest enclosed compost facility in the state. At A&M, Mascaro composts about 240 million pounds of sewage sludge and food waste per year for its Tri-xtate and Mid-Atlantic regional customers, with the composting of food waste growing.
The composting process at A&M is DEP-approved and regulated, and the finished compost product, known as "Landscaper's Advantage," meets EPA and DEP standards for Class A Exceptional Quality Compost. Landscaper's Advantage is approved for general sale and distribution, and it is used by landscapers, nurseries, topsoil blenders, and farmers, as well as for land reclamation and soil improvement projects.
Mascaro company President, Pat Mascaro, said, "Our company is committed to composting, and it has been for many years." Mascaro added, "The A&M Compost facility is an important component of our company's Sustainable Waste Service System that is maintained for our customers, which system also includes our TotalRecycle, Inc. automated single stream recycling facility, and our Pioneer Crossing Landfill, where landfill gas is converted into electricity for offsite use."
The A&M facility is situated on a large property in an agricultural area of Lancaster County, where Mascaro has conducted compost operations since 1994. Today, A&M is a modern 455,000 square foot fully-enclosed building, with top-of-the-line composting system components, including an individual air circulation system in each compost windrow to enhance the biological composting process, a one-of-a-kind biofiltration odor control system to eliminate compost windrow odors, an advanced mechanical screening system that separates the woodchip bulking agent from the finished compost, and other environmental protection systems.
"A&M is managed by a registered professional engineer, Ryan Inch, and an experienced organic compost specialist, Mark Hubbard," said Mascaro. "There is no other compost facility like it in the Mid-Atlantic region," added Mascaro.
For almost a quarter of a century, under a 1992 25-year beneficial use contract Mascaro had with Nassau County, New York, A&M composted and beneficially reused the county's sewage sludge after the EPA banned the county's ocean dumping of that material. "That beneficial use composting contract jump-started Mascaro in the compost business, and it was a tremendous success for both Mascaro and Nassau County," said Mascaro. "It put the Mascaro company at the forefront of large-volume indoor composting, which is where it remains today," added Mascaro. The Mascaro company had a similiar composting beneficial use contract with the City of New York for several years.
Currently, A&M performs composting services for many different regional area customers, and there is a strong market for those composting services and for A&M's Class A finished compost.
For more information about J. P. Mascaro & Sons, its affiliated entities, its services and its facilities, visit the company website at ww.jpmascaro.com.