compost
Enable an agent to recognise compost, assess a particular lot's condition and suitability, and decide whether it needs further treatment or can be used for an intended purpose.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an agent to recognise compost, assess a particular lot's condition and suitability, and decide whether it needs further treatment or can be used for an intended purpose.
Compost is a biologically stabilized organic material produced by managed aerobic decomposition of biodegradable feedstocks and used principally to improve soil properties and supply some plant nutrients.
It can be Trace a compost lot to its feedstocks, treatment records and representative test results.; Request targeted sampling and testing when readiness or contamination evidence is incomplete.; Route a lot for further curing, screening or reassessment based on its condition.; Compare a lot with the documented requirements of an intended application.; Calculate delivered dry matter and nutrient quantities from a proposed application mass.; Flag a lot for restricted use or investigation when contamination, storage changes or missing evidence undermine suitability..
Distinguishing features
Establish whether the material has undergone managed aerobic biological decomposition, rather than being only shredded or mixed organic feedstock.
Distinguish compost from anaerobic digestate using treatment history; record subsequent composting when applicable.
Distinguish compost from naturally accumulated humus or leaf litter by its production provenance.
Distinguish a compost lot from soil or a formulated growing medium in which compost is one constituent.
Use documented stability and maturity assessments to distinguish material described as finished compost from material still requiring curing; appearance or an earthy smell alone does not establish readiness.
Scope
+ Identity and traceability of a compost lot, including feedstocks and additions
+ Material composition, physical condition and sampling basis
+ Stability, maturity and evidence of treatment effectiveness
+ Biological, chemical and physical contaminants
+ Suitability for specified uses and changes during storage
- Design and operation of composting facilities, equipment and collection systems
- Undecomposed feedstocks as independently managed materials
- Anaerobic digestate before any subsequent composting treatment
- Soil, growing media and formulated products that contain compost
- Whole-farm nutrient management and crop cultivation
- Composting service organisations and their commercial operations
Characteristics
- Feedstock composition
- Feedstock types, origins and estimated proportions with wet-mass, dry-mass or volume basis Feedstock history guides traceability, contaminant investigation and interpretation of composition.
- Treatment and curing status
- Under active treatment | curing | assessed as finished for a specified use | unknown; assessment date and basis A material's label must be separated from evidence that it is ready for use.
- Moisture content
- Percent by mass, stating wet or dry basis and test method Moisture affects handling, storage behaviour and conversion between delivered mass and dry-matter quantities.
- Particle-size distribution
- Mass percent passing specified sieve apertures in mm; sample preparation stated Texture and coarse fractions affect spreading, blending and suitability for particular uses.
- Organic matter and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio
- Organic matter as percent dry mass; C:N as a dimensionless mass ratio with analytical definitions These measurements describe composition but should not independently establish maturity or nutrient availability.
- pH and electrical conductivity
- pH and electrical conductivity in dS/m, with extraction method, dilution and temperature Acidity and soluble salts can constrain plant compatibility and blending proportions.
- Nutrient composition
- Total and separately measured extractable nutrient concentrations in g/kg dry matter; analytes and methods stated Total nutrient content and potentially available nutrients support different use decisions.
- Biological stability
- Respiration or self-heating test result, method-specific units, conditions and interpretation Residual biological activity informs whether further curing or storage controls are needed.
- Plant-response assessment
- Germination or growth response relative to a control, with species, mixture proportion and protocol Suitability for plant contact depends on the tested use conditions.
- Contaminant profile
- Analyte-specific chemical concentrations, biological counts or presence results, and physical impurity fractions; detection limits and methods Contaminant evidence can restrict use even when the material appears mature.
- Applicable material designation
- Jurisdiction-specific waste, product or quality designation with documentary evidence; unresolved where unknown The applicable designation and intended use determine which acceptance requirements need checking.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 30 questions.
Compost identity and lineage Establishes which material is being assessed and how its organic inputs became the identified compost lot.
Compost is a variable mixture whose identity depends on provenance and lot boundaries, rather than a single molecular formula.
Material boundary
Separates compost from feedstocks, digestate and mixtures containing compost.
Basis for compost identity
Record the evidence supporting identification as compost and any ambiguity about treatment stage or mixture identity.
- What treatment history supports calling this material compost? definition
- Is the assessed material compost itself, material still undergoing composting, or a formulated mixture containing compost? boundary
Feedstocks and lot history
Connects a bounded lot to its inputs, additions and material movements.
Traceable compost lot
Record input origins and lot splits or combinations needed to interpret test results and investigate problems.
- Which feedstocks and additions entered this lot, from which sources, and in what known or estimated proportions? provenance
- Which production dates, stockpile boundaries, splits and combinations define the material covered by this lot's records? boundary
Stability, maturity and treatment evidence Organises evidence about residual decomposition, plant response and treatment of biological hazards.
Stability, maturity and treatment effectiveness answer different questions and must not be collapsed into one finished-compost label.
Stability and plant response
Assesses residual biological activity and readiness for a specified plant-related use.
Readiness assessment
Keep stability tests and plant-response assessments distinct, including their methods, dates and use-specific interpretations.
- What respiration or self-heating result describes this lot's residual biological activity, under which test conditions? measurement
- What plant-response evidence supports readiness at the proposed compost proportion and for the intended plant or application? measurement
- What evidence would trigger additional curing and retesting? action
Biological treatment evidence
Links the material to records and tests relevant to pathogens and viable propagules.
Treatment coverage and verification
Record evidence of treatment coverage and verification without treating maturity as proof of biological safety.
- Which time-temperature and material-movement records support treatment coverage for this lot? provenance
- Which pathogen indicators or viable weed-seed and plant-propagule tests were performed, and what were their results and sampling limits? measurement
Compost composition and measurement Describes the physical and chemical properties of a heterogeneous compost lot with an explicit measurement basis.
Moisture, sampling and analytical methods can change the meaning of compost measurements and application calculations.
Representative physical characterisation
Relates moisture, particle size and bulk density to sampling and handling conditions.
Sample and delivered material
Record whether measured physical properties represent the lot and its condition at delivery.
- How were increments taken across the lot and combined to account for coarse particles and moisture variation? measurement
- What are the moisture content, particle-size distribution and bulk density, with their measurement methods and material condition? measurement
Organic and chemical composition
Records organic matter, nutrients, acidity and soluble salts without assigning universal constants to compost.
Interpretable composition results
Keep analytical definitions and mass bases attached to results used for blending or application decisions.
- What organic matter, carbon, nitrogen and other nutrient results are available, and do they represent total or method-defined extractable fractions? measurement
- What pH and electrical conductivity were measured, using which extraction ratio and test conditions? measurement
- How should the reported concentrations be converted to quantities in the proposed delivered mass? action
Contaminants and acceptance Connects feedstock-related contamination concerns and measured impurities to applicable acceptance requirements.
A mature compost lot can still be unsuitable because of contaminants, physical debris or unmet use requirements.
Chemical and physical contaminants
Targets investigation using feedstock history, observations and analytical evidence.
Contamination evidence
Record relevant chemical residues and physical impurities, distinguishing untested substances from non-detect results.
- Which feedstock histories justify testing for metals, persistent herbicide residues, PFAS or other specified contaminants? provenance
- What chemical results and physical impurity measurements exist, including detection limits, fragment sizes and glass, metal or plastic fractions? measurement
Use-specific acceptance
Maps the lot to the requirements relevant to its jurisdiction, designation and destination.
Documented acceptance decision
Record the exact basis for accepting, restricting or leaving unresolved a proposed use.
- Which current jurisdictional requirements, quality specifications or buyer criteria apply to this compost and proposed use? boundary
- Does this lot's evidence satisfy those criteria, and which missing results or exceedances prevent acceptance? action
Application and storage fitness Relates measured compost properties to intended applications and tracks changes after assessment.
Suitability depends on application conditions, while storage can make earlier measurements less representative.
Application fit
Evaluates compost for soil amendment, surface application or inclusion in a growing-medium blend.
Application constraints
Identify the receiving context and compost properties that constrain the proposed amount or mixture proportion.
- What receiving soil, plant sensitivity, placement and compost proportion define the intended application? boundary
- How do the lot's salts, nutrient composition, particle size and maturity evidence constrain the proposed use? action
Storage and reassessment
Tracks material changes between testing and use.
Continued validity of assessment
Record storage observations and events that could invalidate earlier readiness or contamination conclusions.
- Since sampling, has the lot experienced rewetting, renewed heating, unusual odour, contamination or mixing with other material? provenance
- Which observed changes require resampling, further curing or a revised use decision before dispatch or application? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- This describes the composted-material sense, not the broader horticultural use of 'compost' for growing media; no sources were consulted.
- Vermicompost and spent mushroom compost are established names, but their processing histories and eligibility under particular compost standards require checking.
- Verify regulatory scope, applicable editions and local quality limits; compost has no universal composition, purity, melting point or single chemical identifier, and the indicative measurement ranges are not acceptance criteria.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of compost this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Green-waste compost
- Food-waste compost
- Manure compost
- Biosolids compost
- Vermicompost
- Spent mushroom compost
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of compost this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- PAS 100, published by the British Standards Institution, specifies requirements for composted materials.
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, adopted by the European Parliament and Council, includes requirements for compost used in EU fertilising products.
- USDA National Organic Program regulations include feedstock and processing requirements for compost used in organic crop production.
- US EPA regulations at 40 CFR Part 503 apply to sewage sludge, including composted biosolids used or disposed of within their scope.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of compost this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Improving soil structure, water retention and organic matter content
- Supplying nutrients to agricultural and horticultural soils
- Serving as a component of formulated growing media
- Supporting vegetation establishment in land restoration
- Mulching and erosion control
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of compost this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Carbon-to-nitrogen mass ratio of finished compost - Approximately 10-20; feedstock dependent and insufficient alone to establish maturity - dimensionless
- pH of finished compost - Approximately 6-8.5; feedstock and extraction method dependent - pH
- Moisture content during active composting - Approximately 40-60; an operating range rather than a finished-product specification - % of wet mass
- Temperature during the thermophilic composting stage - Approximately 45-70; temperature alone does not demonstrate sanitation - °C
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of compost this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Immature or insufficiently stabilized compost can inhibit plant growth through organic acids, ammonia or continued microbial activity.
- High soluble-salt concentrations can damage salt-sensitive plants.
- Inadequate sanitation or subsequent contamination can leave pathogens and viable weed seeds.
- Feedstocks can introduce persistent herbicides, metals, plastics or other contaminants.
- Storage and handling can generate dust and bioaerosols; large biologically active piles can self-heat and occasionally ignite.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of compost this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Permitted feedstocks and the conditions under which compost ceases to be legally classified as waste differ by jurisdiction.
- Limits and testing requirements for pathogens, metals and physical contaminants vary among jurisdictions and certification schemes.
- In British horticultural usage, 'compost' can also mean a formulated potting medium that need not consist of composted material.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of compost this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Composting - Composting is the biological treatment process; compost is its material product.
- Digestate - Digestate comes from anaerobic digestion and is not automatically compost, although it can undergo subsequent aerobic composting.
- Manure - Manure originates as animal excreta, often with bedding; it becomes manure compost only after composting.
- Mulch - Mulch is defined by its use as a surface covering; compost is defined by its production and material condition and can serve as mulch.
- Potting mix - A potting mix is formulated to support container-grown plants and may contain compost alongside other components.
- Peat - Peat accumulates through incomplete decomposition in waterlogged environments rather than managed aerobic composting.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of compost this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Does an existing Vercy world model already own compost, and how should this entry relate to models for organic amendments, digestate and vermicompost?
- Which operational definition should determine when partly decomposed material enters this model's scope and when it may be designated finished compost?
- Which stability and maturity methods are appropriate for the intended uses, and how comparable are their interpretations?
- Which jurisdiction, material designation and destination should determine acceptance requirements and the contaminant testing panel?
- What sampling frequency and reassessment triggers are adequate for heterogeneous lots that are stored, split or combined?