42 | Organic compost plant back in business Biorich produces around 40,000 cubic metres of organic compost a year for farms all over the lower North Island. BioRich Ltd T T Hugh de Lacy “The new concrete pad was laid within about a year, and the facility is now working close to capacity again, but you can still see the scars on the landscape left by the cyclone.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT When the Ngaruroro River burst its banks during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, it did so right opposite the BioRich composting production and sales site, and they later found the office and retail building three kilometres away from its concrete pad. It took a year, a huge effort from staff, and a significant government grant to get Mike Glazebrook’s pioneering organic compost site up and running again. Mike, a Hawke’s Bay cropping farmer, had gone organic in the 1990s, only to find there was no source, locally or nationally, of fertiliser to meet the organics regime’s strict requirements. So he started making his own, formed his company BioRich in 2004, and is now producing around 40,000 cubic metres of organic compost a year for farms all over the lower North Island. While organic compost is the main item produced by Mike’s two sites, they also produce bark-mulch, a blend of compost and topsoil marketed as Supersoil, along with Aged Garden Compost, screened topsoil, and a Forest Floor ground-cover product. BioRich also has the capacity to extract stock food and energy from organic material, but by far the majority of the output is sold as farm fertiliser, with BioRich utilising local trucking companies to distribute it. The main ingredient of BioRich’s compost is green waste, plus virtually anything else organic, including animal by-products and commercial food waste, right down to wooldust. BioRich also offers its Awatoto site as a green waste drop-off point, charging by the trailer-load. The whole operation represents a productive use for a wide range of organic materials that would otherwise go to waste or to landfills. The main plant on Waitangi Road in Awatoto, Napier, offers customer pick-up services, bagged and bulk, while the other plant at Te Tua Station, 20km south-west of Hastings, is a production-only unit. Mike’s daughter, Olivia Glazebrook, recalls the moment they saw the damage following the breach of the stopbank at the Awatoto site – what had been a thriving operation was now a scene of chaos, with loaders completely submerged under floodwater, buildings swept away and the land covered in debris. “The office and retail building was bolted to its concrete pad but the flood still carried it away,” Olivia says. “In the aftermath, huge volumes of green waste needed disposal, yet BioRich, one of the few facilities capable of handling it, was out of action. “A government grant helped restore operations, ensuring BioRich could assist in processing the region’s post-cyclone green waste. “The new concrete pad was laid within about a year, and the facility is now working close to capacity again, but you can still see the scars on the landscape left by the cyclone.” Olivia says the driving force behind her father’s BioRich venture was to develop an environmentally sustainable approach to managing organic waste, ensuring it doesn’t contribute to global warming by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere or water. “We’re not just recycling waste, we’re turning it into something valuable while cutting its environmental footprint,” she says. Proudly supporting BioRich Ltd PROUDTO SUPPORT LOCAL. 0800 436 723 | waterforce.co.nz WATER FILTRATION SERVICES SE S WATER MEASUREMENT WATER MEASUREMENT PUMPING IRRIGATION claasharvestcentre.com HAWKES BAY 1320–1322 Omahu Road, Hastings 06 872 1010 CLAAS Harvest C re Hawkes Bay ent support BioRich Ltd. is proud to www.biorich.co.nz BIORICH ORGANIC COMPOST SMART ORGANIC WASTE SOLUTIONS THAT REDUCE COSTS AND ADD VALUE. 0800 246 7424
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