GARDEN

PREP Compost
Northwest gardens and lawns love PREP Compost (Pierce County Recycled Earth Products), a quality-tested, screened, 100 percent recycled yard waste compost. It's guaranteed to be weed seed-free, because a controlled, natural heat process is used during production. University Place Refuse distributes PREP in several quantities for your convenience. Unlike other municipal composts, which may contain sewage sludge and other such products, PREP compost is made entirely from plant materials--providing you with a rich, water-retentive compost that's filled with nutrients and approved for vegetable gardening.

Good gardens and green lawns come from good soil. The accepted standard for a healthy soil to be used in vegetable gardens is a minimum of five per cent humus in the first 12 inches of soil. One inch of PREP compost worked into the soil is roughly equal to the five per cent minimum humus content required. If your soil is rocky, sandy, overly wet or lacking in nutrients, our compost is exactly what you need. 

Use Less Fertilizer
Compost helps gardeners save time and money. Do you get tired of fertilizing your garden? Do you have questions about the safety and effectiveness of chemical fertilizers? Use compost--it's all natural. You can grown your own "organic" produce rather than purchase it at the store. PREP has a nutrient content that reduces the amount of additional fertilizer required for optimum plant nutrition.

Soil Conditioner
PREP is an excellent soil conditioner. For sandy soils, PREP adds water and nutrient holding capacity. For clay soils, PREP loosens soil and allows better drainage. After years of gardening, soil can get exhausted and compacted. Compost reinvigorates the ground by reintroducing organic nutrients. Whether you're growing vegetables or watering your lawn, you'll notice the difference when you use PREP compost because you'll see how well it allows water to absorb into the ground.

High Quality, Safe For Gardens
Many municipal composts are for landscaping uses only. PREP is different. We only accept organic, vegetative materials for our compost source. So you won't find manures, sewage or chemicals added to our compost. Because of this, our compost is safe for use in vegetable gardens, lawns, landscaping and flower beds...anywhere you need nutritious soil. PREP is highly stabilized through the all-natural high-heat (160 degrees F) process known as aerobic (with air) composting and will not introduce weed seeds into the soil.

UP Refuse's compost is made with a quality assurance program. The composting facility analyzes the product for routine nutrients, metals, and pathogens so we can always provide you with a high quality, consistent product that works wonders in your garden.

Rich Nutrients Revitalize Soil
PREP Compost is high in nutrients essential for healthy plants: calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorous. These plant nutrients, as well as the physical properties (pH, particle size distribution, bulk density and water-holding capacity)  make PREP superior to bark and peat or peat moss when used for potting or soil mixes. PREP is superior to the average manure-based soil enhancers, because it has a wider spectrum of mineral content due to the broad variety of vegetation used.

Locally-Produced
PREP Compost is commercially produced locally at the Pierce County Yard Waste Compost Facility in Purdy. The Purdy facility is a state of the art compost plant, and has received acclaim throughout the compost industry worldwide for its design, efficiency and superior product. You can see a slideshow of the fascinating art of fine compost production at this site.

Composting is a Good Thing
Since 1991, University Place Refuse Service, Inc., has been a founding member of the Washington Organic Recycling Council.

For more information about compost applications, contact a Master Gardener at your local Washington State University extension office.
Pierce County - 253-798-7176
Kitsap County - 360-337-7158
Thurston County - 360-704-7781
King County - 206-296-3900

Where to Get PREP
PREP Compost is available in 1 cubic foot bags or by the yard. You can pick up your PREP at our headquarters or it can be delivered.
Contact us at (253) 564-3212 to order PREP.

Whether you're a landscaper, gardener, facility manager or business owner, PREP is a smart way to save money by having the healthiest lawns, gardens and landscaping. You'll find you water less and that your plants are stronger. In using PREP, you are supporting sustainable recycling, because PREP is made from 100 percent recycled yard waste, most of which comes from the Curbside Yard Waste Collection Program throughout Pierce County.

SOUND-GRO FERTILIZER

Sound-GRO is Pierce County's new pelletized biosolids-based fertilizer product.  SoundGRO is a Class A "Exceptional Quality" fertilizer product manufactured at Pierce County's Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.  Sound-GRO is also available for purchase here at UP Refuse.  Visit Sound-GRO's website for specific details.

This page is a description of our PREP Compost. Click below for links to other services we offer.

>Residential
>Curbside Recycling
>Yard Waste Pickup
>Commercial
>Construction Disposal
>Drop Boxes (dumpsters)
>Portable Storage
>The Recycling Center
>PREP Compost

NATURAL LAWN CARE INFO
Green, healthy lawns are a great place for outdoor play, family time and relaxation. But sometimes when we take care of our lawns, we can cause harm throuh overusing water or chemicals.

Below are several informative and easy-to-use resources for a healthier, safer lawn. With a few simple changes, you can save money, time and have a more useable outdoor living space.

Please feel free to open, read, download and print out these natural lawn care flyers! (All files are PDF format)