At All-In, we are working hard to make a long-lasting positive impact on our environment. We are proud of the fact that none of the used horse bedding we handle goes to a landfill. In fact, we work closely with invaluable partners to ensure that 100% of the material is recycled and reused in ways that contribute to improving economic sustainability. It has been our passion for nearly a decade to take a product that was once considered a form of waste and turn it into an environmentally friendly, recyclable commodity that is now in high demand.
Properly composted used horse bedding can be reused in multiple ways:
- As an energy resource
Used horse bedding has been successfully used in a biomass facility recently to produce the entire energy source for a neighboring factory. It was also used in an anaerobic digestion operation that produced power for the large farm on which the digester was located. In other parts of the world, used horse bedding is used to produce energy on a smaller scale allowing more small farms and businesses to take advantage of this organic material. - As a soil amendment to add texture to sandy soils
This sustainable practice reduces the need for irrigation and the draining of water from the aquifer. Since sand drains so quickly, it takes large amounts of water to irrigate crops grown in sandy soil. Composted bedding holds ten times its weight in water, allowing the crops to thrive on less rainfall or irrigated water. - To blend custom soil mixes used by commercial nurseries and growers
Composted bedding serves as a good carbon source to reduce the amount of nitrate concentration in other nitrogen rich products such as cow manure and poultry litter. This finished material is used for many purposes, including as an aid in the growth of trees…trees that through responsible forestry may eventually become new horse bedding, thus creating a sustainable closed loop system. Used horse bedding may be the ultimate renewable resource!
In addition, offering bundled services allows us to reduce the number of trips our trucks make to satisfy the horse bedding needs of our customers, further improving our sustainability efforts.
In the old days, two trucks would make two separate trips to a farm, one to deliver shavings and another to pick up used horse bedding. Now, we do both of those services in one trip. Not only is this a huge cost savings to the customer but it also reduces our company’s carbon footprint. We are phasing out our older less efficient trucks and putting more efficient and lower pollutant level trucks on the road. We feel it is very important to maintain a clean and sustainable planet and we are glad to do our part.