Automatic temperature monitoring helps compost companies comply with regulations.
Visitors to the Recycling and Waste Management ’08 Exhibition will be able to see how Gemini Data Loggers has helped composters with their Tinytag Temperature Monitoring Systems.
The pressure to ease landfill sites and popularity of organic food has led to expansion in the composting industry, which has in turn brought more stringent guidelines to regulate the market place.
BSI PAS 100:2005 requires compost process' temperatures to be recorded accurately.
Using Tinytag data loggers for monitoring can help alleviate this bureaucratic burden and increase the reliability and efficiency of recording. Temperature data is collected and stored in loggers, then downloaded to a computer, where the Tinytag Explorer software analyse and convert the data into graphs showing the temperature history through the compost process; a positive alternative to labour intensive, error-prone spot checks and a burden to sites with budget limitations.
Plant and animal waste have to meet different regulatory requirements. The Animal By-Products Regulations are rigorous; inspectors visit sites and require evidence.
Producing reliable data loggers suitable for different compost processes is a challenge Gemini Data Loggers have met head on. The end result: robust, durable products, accurate enough to withstand harsh environments.
Small sites might favour a simple, cost effective, solution consisting of a stand-alone data logger with a custom-designed probe.
The Composting Company Ltd (TCCL) makes extensive use of Gemini’s Tinyview loggers which are supplied as part of its New Era In-vessel system; two new in-vessel facilities have recently commenced production. The loggers and TCCL’s custom built probes are popular because they are reliable and, with clearly visible displays, provide instant indication of how the compost process is performing whilst also enabling data capture to ensure a permanent record to comply with ABPR. TCCL also use Gemini’s loggers for their easy to use, purpose built probes for monitoring temperatures in open windrows.
Wireless data logging systems are commonly used on larger sites, where manually downloading numerous loggers is time and labour consuming
The Tinytag wireless system consists of a ‘mesh’ network of radio loggers and a central receiver, connected to a computer. The loggers can be up to 100 metres away from each other, and can transmit data back to the receiver through other loggers. The system is very robust and, to avoid loss of data, if a logger’s direct contact with the receiver is blocked, it can still transmit data back to the receiver via neighbouring loggers.
It is also possible to access the loggers via the internet or an internal network connection, allowing users to access multiple sites.
Another product brought to the compost market is the Gemini Tinytag ‘egg’ logger – so called because of its eye-catching design.
The Eden Project, in Cornwall, has found loggers particularly useful in their 30m³ - in-vessel composter which makes easy work of the 2.5 tonnes a week of catering waste during the peak season. The Eden Project adheres to BSI PAS 100:2005 and Animal Bi-product regulations, therefore 20 in-built loggers record data to prove their compliance.
Maureen Newton, Laboratory Manager at the Eden Project commented: “Whatever we chose for this job had to be rugged. The only way out of the machine is through a screw auger, so we wanted a logger that would stay intact throughout. The brightness of the loggers means they are easy to spot, very useful if you don’t want to go wading in compost!”
Gemini Data Loggers supply the most cost-effective, innovative and reliable products that give users piece of mind, as well as a long-lasting durable data logging solution.
