Sustainability at Biltmore: New composting facility is helping Biltmore turn waste into an asset
FACT SHEET
In alignment with George Vanderbilt’s original vision of a self-sustaining estate, Biltmore recently installed a new centralized on-site composting facility, built and designed by Asheville company Advanced Composting Technologies, LLC.
The facility aligns with Biltmore’s company-wide mission of environmental stewardship. When George Vanderbilt created Biltmore, he envisioned a country estate modeled after private manors in Europe. His vision was for his home to be completely self-sufficient and a model for the future. These guiding principles in sustainability have been a part of the family-run company for generations.
The facility and system were built by Asheville-based composting company Advanced Composting Technologies, LLC, which has produced composting systems for hundreds of entities, including municipalities as well as campuses such as Warren Wilson College and Appalachian State University, both located in North Carolina.
The facility was designed to process 1,200 tons of finished compost per year, and has storage for up to 1,000 cubic yards of compost at any given time.
As in the previous iteration of the estate’s composting efforts, Biltmore is continuing to collect horticulture, floral, vineyard and agriculture waste from the estate and composting this material.
New with this facility, Biltmore is now collecting back-of-house, pre-consumer food waste from estate restaurants, as well as manure from livestock. Meat products including bones are able to pass through the facility.
Biltmore eventually plans to collect post-consumer waste, that is food from guest plates in restaurants, once settled in to the new facility system.
Materials are transported from restaurants and various areas of the estate to the new facility for processing.
Biltmore is using an aerated static pile system. This means air is actively being pumped through the piles of compost to keep the bacteria breaking down the waste active. This keeps the piles of compostable material hot to encourage decomposition.
The result? A more consistent, labor efficient product that can be produced in less than half the time than traditional compost methods.
In the first month of production (most of the month of May 2023), the facility processed:
12,820 pounds of food waste from restaurants
36,200 pounds of manure from the estate’s Equestrian Center and Farmyard
Produced nearly 25 tons of finished compost
Finished compost product is spread on crop fields, livestock pastures and turf and gardens, reducing the need for fertilizer.
This project follows in George Vanderbilt’s original vision of a self-sustaining estate. It also follows the estate landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted’s, insight to use animal manures to restore poor depleted soil on the estate grounds. Biltmore is staying true to the historical vision for the estate, while also looking toward the future.
Corporate social responsibility is an area of focus in a 10-year strategic plan for the estate, and composting is a vital part of the estate’s long-term sustainability vision. The composting program is part of our waste reduction strategy to reduce Biltmore’s waste stream and the amount of material sent to the landfill.
