Griffith Park Composting Facility entrance sign
End of conveyor belt when all mulch has been processed
Biosolids being covered by mulch
Biosolids being mixed with the mulch
Screening machine to sort out the greenwaste
Composting area
Screening machine
Finished product biosolids being delivered to the site from Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant
Green waste collected from Recreation & Parks
Screening Machine
Compost piles are lined into windows
Compost education center
Rest and picnic area
Composting school
Composting school area
Picnic area
For more information about our Free Mulch Give-Away Program, click here.
The Griffith Park Composting Facility began operations on January 29, 1996. It is designed to compost the organic matter produced in the regional park. Maintenance crews collect dropped leaves, lawn clippings, and trimmings from acres of landscaping. Zoo doo (collected from herbivores such as elephants and zebras) and biosolids are blended with chipped park greenery and composted. TOPGROTM the final compost product, is then used in Griffith Park, thus completing the full cycle of recycling. It is also available to Los Angeles residents for their own urban landscaping projects. The G.P.C.F. is a critical facility under LA City's Biosolids Environmental Management System.
LA Sanitation (LASAN) strives to provide the highest quality compost and adhere to standards adopted by the compost industry. Learn more about the Seal of Testing Assurance for our horse manure compost and Griffith Park compost here, along with copies of the most current quarterly program STA data sheets and Iinstructions on the recommended use of the STA compost products produced by the City, at Griffith Park.
MISSION
The mission of the Griffith Park Composting Facility is to beneficially reuse zoo manure, Griffith Park green trimmings and a small amount of City biosolids, in order to produce a compost product that will enhance City parks and build healthy soils without creating any negative environmental impact to Griffith Park patrons and local residents.
Composting is a natural process, which transforms decomposable organic material into carbon dioxide, water, and stabilized organic matter (compost). In nature, compost forms slowly depending on ambient conditions. Although composting utilizes a natural process, successful operation of a compost site does not happen automatically. Composting requires daily management. Operators must intervene with specific control measures to establish and maintain the composting process. The composting process should progress at a predictable rate under ideal microbial conditions so that a high quality product is produced in the minimum amount of time to meet applicable standards.
FINISHED PRODUCT COMPOST
TOPGROTM is a trademarked product owned and produced by the City of Los Angeles. The product is a natural organic product derived from yard clippings, animal manure from the Los Angeles Zoo and anaerobically digested Class A biosolids from the City's Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant. The product is non-hazardous, non-toxic and not subject to hazardous waste regulations.
TOPGROTM is tested by a state certified laboratory and meets US EPA Rule 503 guildelines for pathogen destruction and vector attraction and reduction requirements. TOPGROTM is certified by the California Compost Quality Council and is sold or donated to build healthy soils.
For more information, please contact 818-485-0703.
COMPOST PROCESS - AERATED STATIC PILE SYSTEM
About four tons of zoo doo are combined with 20 tons of biosolids and 50 yd3 of yard trimmings to form static piles through perforated pipes leading to a biofilter. The biofilter is made of natural ingredients—wood chips, limestone, and peat moss—that organically reduce odor producing contaminants.
After 60 days of composting, curing and screening, 15 tons per day of TOPGROTM organic compost will be ready for use and distribution.
COMPOSTING EDUCATION CENTER
An education center, located near the composting facility, teaches the public more about various composting techniques, many of which can be done at home. Once a significant number of Los Angeles residents become compost-friendly, millions of tons of recyclable organic "wastes" will be diverted away from collection trucks and put to beneficial use at home. The savings in municipal sanitation budgets will add up to millions of dollars annually, and be available to fund other public services needed to make Los Angeles a "happier, cleaner, and finer city."
Click here to learn more about backyard composting and workshops.
For more information about Griffith Park Composting Faciilty, call 1-800-773-CITY.
INTERESTING FACTS
The facility currently processes around 7000 yd3 of greenwaste per year.
The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks receive half of the produced compost, TOPGROTM, while the remainder is sold to private entities such as landscape companies.
The materials used in the compost are mixed in an aerated pile for 15 days at a temperature of 135°F - 145°F.
When ready for use, compost helps soil and plants in numerous ways, including:
Trace trimmings collected from Griffith Park by Recreation and Parks are ground at their recycling plant and given to SRPCD's composting facility. More than 3,500 tons of organic material becomes compost at the Griffith Park Composting Facility. This facility and the recycling plant are the first of their kind in the United States.
Compost is donated to non-profit organizations and schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District; it is also used in the garden areas at the Los Angeles Zoo and in park landscaping projects throughout the City.