Keep it Out of the Landfill: Composting with the BIVITEC® Screen

High moisture, high volume, and low bulk density make compost a tough customer when it comes to screening. The daily variability of moisture content can make the selection of screening media and opening size a real challenge, especially when using trommels or other conventional vibrating screen shakers.  But there’s no problem screening compost when you have BIVITEC® on your side!

The BIVITEC® screen is used to screen compost across the country, making separations ranging from 1/2″ down to less than 1/8”. Composted yard trimmings, food scraps, bio-sludge — nothing is too difficult for the BIVITEC® to handle!  The wetter and stickier the material, the brighter this screen shines.

The Role of Compost Screening Equipment

While composting itself transforms organic waste into nutrient-rich soil, compost screening ensures that the final product is clean, consistent, and market-ready, meeting industry standards. Screening removes:

• Oversized particles
• Non-compostable contaminants (like plastic or glass)
• Unfinished material that needs more time to break down

How the BIVITEC® Screen Supports Composting Operations

In 2006, Ned Foley at Two Particular Acres in Royersford, PA began using a portable BIVITEC® screening plant in his composting operation.  Ned was starting a compost facility at which he was collecting food scraps from various outlets for disposal at his site, and he needed a screen that could make the fine separations that were going to be necessary to make a high-quality, saleable product.  With the BIVITEC® he was able to screen at a 5mm (3/16”) opening and produce a top-tier compost product.  Two Particular Acres was later able to team with Haines & Kibblehouse (another owner of several BIVITEC® screens) to use their empty quarry pits for compost staging and processing.

A&M Composting in Manheim, PA is a subsidiary of JP Mascaro & Sons.  This site operates two BIVITEC® screens in the process of composting sewage sludge.  Even after composting, this material has very high moisture contents that can reach >60%.  The BIVITEC® is relied on to make efficient separations at 3/8” no matter what the conditions or moisture levels, and it always produces a reliable, clean product.

Many municipalities rely on the BIVITEC® as a compost screening machine. From Palm Beach, Florida to southern California, the BIVITEC® is there to help you keep waste out of the landfill by recycling it into an environmentally friendly soil amendment.

Read more about the BIVITEC® and its capabilities.