Research into the Re-Use of Spent Mushroom Compost

Spent mushroom compost is a problematic organic waste the bulk of which is currently put into landfill. Approximately 200,000 tonnes of this material are produced each year in the UK. There are also large amounts of coal sludges with relatively high calorific value stored in lagoons around the UK. The total amount of this material in contaminated land within Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire is several million tonnes. It is proposed that this spent mushroom compost can be reused as a binder with coal slurry to make rich fuel pellets. This has the potential to 1) reduce material that currently goes to landfill, 2) the creation of an environmentally friendly fuel for UK industry, 3) to assist in cleaning up contaminated land.