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Originally, incoming material was stored in one large pile, but when one of those stockpiles spontaneously combusted last summer, a switch was made to smaller windrows. 'When we had the problem, we were able to take care oC it pretty fast,' notes Jim htuxh. 'But it tronvinced us we had to do something di(Terent.' Initially, the incoming materiel ie stored in e windrow for approximately three months. During [hat time i[ is usually turned only once. At the end of the three months the wood chips are put through a tub grinder for sizing. Except for the htonee site, where a stationery Heybueter tub grinder is used, a mobile hforbark unit is brought in end xt up as needed. Following the grinding, the mulch is put bark into windrows end aged Yndod of a leader (or raodt of Ys Y~r aau, RaYrbow Farms Irvmpoeft a una b fFr sots en a hour. rial. "We had the playground mulch certified by SGS Testing in New Jersey,' says Jack- ie. `And we now sell it as Haley's Play- ground Match.' The rnmpany keeps the finished mulch at its six processing sites and distributes it from there. That helps to keep the products close to the market and cuts down on haul- ing. Because most of the sites aren't attend- ed, they don't have the capacity to provide pick up service for drive•up business. "1'he only site we have pick-up at is Monee,'says Jackie. "But we91 sell it to someone if they show up when we're working at a site.' ^ r USING PALLETS AS A CARBON SOURCE forseveral more moaths.'R'e cum and (tali the material, sometimes on a'weekly basis until the mulch is nice and brown; says Jim htuxh. ~nttrtnra rQOOUCi The end result of processing 70,000 cY of tree trimmings last year was eppro~amately 50,000 cY of commercial grade mulch. Rain• bow Farms markets most afthat material as 'Nature's Blend' wood mulch. `If someone wants bark mulch, we can give it to them; says Jackie htusch.'But we make a nice con• sistent commercial grade.' She adds that about 80 percent of their end produR is sold for use in rommerrial epplitations, ouch e, shopping centers. Recently, Rainbow Farms has added a play~und mulch to itv fine. That material, which is made from larger woody materiel culled from the run of tree trimmings, is blonder than the trompan~e typical mulch, because it doesn't contain much leafy mate- BioGYcu SINCE 1996, the Eagle Ottawa Leather Company's Grand Haven, Mlchigen location has been trucking pallets to its Newaygo Farms near WeaeMlle for use at the company's rnmposting site. Be- cause the pallets are damp and Smell Irorrt the salted hides that were stacked m them, vendors are un- willing to take them bade and re• manufacturers would not aaept the majority of them. 'Once hides are used m a panel. they're not reatry reusable for other applicetlons. They have a definite fdespan,' says John McDonnell of Eagle Ottawa's emironrttental depaMtertt Faced with lendfilting the pallets, the company instead determined the ground material wouk be a vi- able carbon Source ai ifs farm Cdrn- posting fadltty for wastewater tree4 meat filter cake. Approxlmatey 300 pallets can be hauled In one load and neary 20.000 paleh/year are processed. The palters ere 528dted onto liuC![S Owned by tfle corttparly and transported t0 the lamt. They are then crushed by a front-end Bader to make them easier to han• dle when badrg into the rented tub grinder. The pallets are finely ground aM stod~iled for use in the conWostinO prt>cess. McDonnell explains that it takes 115 pounds of raw product and dtemicals abrg with 250 Balms a1 water to prodttce 15 pounds of fin: fished leatrter. After the filter cake is unbaded at fVewaygo Farrtts' 50,000 srylt ~rttputing buildtfg, straw. nine anct Bradt rodt pfgspttaie are mixed with rt. The mixture i5 Sttxi~led to . are in300-fooNortg windrows in the back of the bundrg. When the mate- rials ha+re conWleted a corttposting tyde. they are moved to the sQorage area of the btdldrp. A mixture of filter Cake, Straw and errtertdrnents - irl- eluding the ground pallets - Is brought from the curing pile and formed Imo a wkWrOw.1Ne rise the byproducts to compost and grow sops for sate bade to Cie Bartle in- dustry; expiei»s McDarrel, who es- timates that Eagle Ottawa rvm divert 13,2M tortslyear of corttpostable or• games ro fVewaygo Farms. ' Ot~oeGi 1998, 29