Norwegian waste and recycling service provider Avfall Sør AS in Kristiansand sets standards in composting.
Avfall Sør is a joint service provider for the Kristiansand, Songdalen, Søgne and Vennesla municipalities in the south of Norway. In this beautiful region, which is popular for holidays, Avfall Sør does pioneering work in the composting of sewage sludge and organic waste. The company is Komptech’s biggest Scandinavian customer, and its Støleheia facility is one of the most advanced composting plants in the country. Here, source-separated organic waste, dewatered sewage sludge and sludge from water treatment plants are turned into topquality compost. Even back in 1996 the company took what was at the time a cutting-edge windrow compost system into operation, including windrowturning equipment. Today Harry Hansen, Operations Manager at Avfall Sør, is in charge of the Støleheia plant together with his 22-person team.
Harry Hansen’s passion is composting. To get top results you need the latest machinery, which the company has sourced from Komptech for many years. Hansen explains, “every year we get about 20,000 tonnes of sewage sludge and 8,000 tonnes of source-separated organic waste from the region. Green cuttings are very important for us as structure material and as an additive for adjusting the windrow moisture.”
The compost produced from organic waste, sewage sludge and green cuttings is mixed with sand, peat and earth by a secret recipe, and is in high demand for landscaping because of its very high nutrient content. Overall demand for high-quality compost has grown in recent years, for example for greening roofs. Avfall Sør has responded with an expanded range of offerings, and sells a special compost mix called “green roofs.”
“We greatly value their help, and know that when we need to get new machines we can always rely on them to give us the best possible advice.”
Avfall Sør took delivery of its first Komptech machine in 2001, a Crambo shredder. At that time the Magne Gitmark AS company was already in place as Komptech’s exclusive sales and service partner for Norway. 18 years later Gitmark Sales Director Thomas Helle is happy to deliver the fifth Crambo to this customer. “We’re very proud of the trust that this customer places in us.” For his part Harry Hansen has only good things to say about Magne Gitmark. “We greatly value their help, and know that when we need to get new machines we can always rely on them to give us the best possible advice.”
ne example: In the past Avfall Sør had problems with plastics in the oversize fraction after composting. They needed a solution that was mobile and electric, and that efficiently removed plastic. This is no problem for the Hurrikan S, with its patented pressure-suction system that helps it reach a separation accuracy of up to 95%.
Another problem that many composters face is pieces of glass in compost. For some weeks now Avfall Sør has been using an all-electric Cribus 5000. The 10 mm disc holes keep the compost almost entirely glass-free. Maschine operator Øyfind Ugland is also enthusiastic about the user-friendliness: “Operation with the colour display is selfexplanatory, and with the Connect! app you can see the latest machine status from any PC or smartphone.”
Avfall Sør intends to remain a pioneer going forward. With the interest in composting that all three parties clearly share, and with their mutual trust, there is a good foundation from which to reach this goal.
