Nantucket Gold Compost is made solely from 100% source segregated Nantucket leaf and yard waste. There is absolutely no household waste, biosolids, food waste or any other inputs mixed in and the the material is handled with dedicated machinery to keep it safe from contaminants on our site.

Yes. Nantucket Gold™ Compost is OMRI listed and produced under controlled conditions that ensure proper decomposition and pathogen reduction. It’s safe for vegetable gardens, ornamental beds, and landscape use.

Nantucket Gold™ Compost is produced using modern screening equipment designed to remove glass and other contaminants. While all incoming material is inspected, occasional non-yard items can enter the system due to improper disposal. Our screening process and dedicated handling greatly reduce this risk and produce a clean, high-quality finished compost.

Leaf and yard material is composted and cured for 8-12 months or more before being screened and made available as finished compost.

All incoming material is visually inspected, and leaf and yard waste is kept separate from other materials on site. Dedicated equipment is required per our OMRI certification and used throughout the process to protect compost from contaminants.

Yes. Nantucket Gold™ Compost is regularly tested by three independent labs using EPA and USDA approved methods. Testing includes metals, organic compounds, and other parameters commonly used to evaluate compost and soil amendments.

Testing focuses on:

• Metals (such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury)

• Organic compounds (including PAHs and other semi-volatile compounds)

• Overall indicators of product quality and safety

These are standard tests used for compost, soils, and environmental materials nationwide.

No PFAS standard currently exists for compost at the state or federal level, and therefore MassDEP does not require PFAS testing for leaf and yard waste compost.

The primary way PFAS enter compost is through food packaging, soils treated with biosolid-based fertilizers, and biosolids themselves (treated sewage sludge). Nantucket Gold contains none of those inputs — it is made exclusively from island-collected leaf and yard waste. We do not use food scraps, sludge, or excavated soils.

We're committed to transparency and will continue to monitor the evolving regulatory landscape. If MassDEP establishes PFAS standards for compost, we will comply.

In the meantime, the island of Nantucket and its businesses should take every possible step to avoid pesticides, fertilizers, and other products known to contain PFAS. This is a standard worth striving for as a community.

Yes! We believe in transparency (because our compost has nothing to hide).
Summaries of testing are available at this link, and we’re always happy to explain results in plain language.

Not by itself. Plant roots need both nutrients and oxygen to grow. On its own, compost is too dense to provide the air pockets roots need. Nantucket Gold is an essential building block of great soil, designed to be blended with soil or other materials to create the right balance of structure, drainage, and airflow.

👉 See our Compost Recipe Page for the right mix.

Because producing a finished, tested, certified compost requires real infrastructure. Every batch is turned a minimum of six times using heavy machinery before it's ready to screen. It then runs through a McCloskey Trommel Screener to produce the consistent, fine-textured product you're getting. After that, it's analyzed by AgroLab using TMECC protocols — the industry standard for compost testing. Results confirm Very Stable maturity, passed pathogen and heavy metal screens, near-neutral pH (7.4), and exceptionally low soluble salts (EC 0.20 dS/m). It is OMRI Listed, independently reviewed and approved for certified organic use.

That level of process — six turns, mechanical screening, third-party lab verification — has real costs in equipment, fuel, labor, and time.

Unprocessed yard waste is not compost. It's feedstock. The difference between raw material and a finished, stable soil amendment is everything that happens in between.