Composting

Composting outside of individual homes or farms got a boost when municipalities started collecting yard waste. Compost is formed by the natural degradation of organic material by microbes. That compost, which looks like black, fluffy dirt, can be added to soil to return nutrients and fertilize plants. Harvest Power is a start-up company targeting organic waste with both large-scale composting, as seen here, and anaerobic digesters, which create biogas in oxygen-starved vessels. Harvest Power's composting method is designed to work more quickly, cutting composting time from six months for a windrow system to eight weeks.