How Greentech increased Compost Screening Throughput by 50% with the EDGE SCREENPRO S18

From farm diversification to one of the North East's leading green waste recycling businesses...

Producing high-quality compost is about far more than simply processing green waste. For commercial compost producers, achieving consistent particle size, high throughput and reliable screening performance—particularly when handling wet and sticky organic material—is what separates a profitable operation from one constantly fighting bottlenecks.

For Newcastle-based Greentech Services, the challenge wasn't producing a quality compost. They had been doing that successfully for more than 25 years. The challenge was producing more of it. After investing in the EDGE SCREENPRO S18 FreeFlow Screen, complete with a bespoke material conditioning system developed alongside the EDGE engineering team, Greentech has transformed its screening operation and increased production by approximately 50%.

Building a Business from Green Waste

Greentech Services was established more than 25 years ago as a diversification from the family's farm near Newcastle upon Tyne.

Operating from Broomfield Farm, the company began processing green waste collected from local authorities before recognising the value that high-quality compost could bring to both agriculture and horticulture. Today, Greentech recycles green waste from local councils, golf courses, landscapers and commercial customers throughout the North East, producing PAS 100 quality compost, specialist soil blends and biomass products while supporting a more circular approach to green waste recycling.

Founder Darren explains: "We started approximately 25 years ago as a diversification from the farm. We had the opportunity to start processing green waste for local councils and quickly realised the benefits compost was bringing back to the land.

We ended up with flip-flow screens and found we were producing a really good product. Landscapers started taking an interest, and once we realised we could consistently produce that quality, that's the route we went down."

Today, Greentech processes approximately 25,000–30,000 tonnes of material every year, including green waste, compost, screened soils and biomass products.

The Challenge: Quality Wasn't the Problem—Throughput Was

Like many commercial composting operations, Greentech had long relied on flip-flow screening technology.The screens produced an excellent finished product, particularly when processing wet, sticky compost, but they struggled to maintain the production levels required as the business continued to grow.

Darren explains: "We'd been running flip-flow screens for a long time because they produced an excellent quality product, especially with wet and sticky material.

The only problem was production. We simply couldn't get the throughput we needed."

Another issue was feeding the machine efficiently. Large excavator buckets meant operators constantly had to feather material into the hopper to avoid overloading the screen.

"We were loading the hopper with a 360 excavator, but we were having to feather the material into the machine all the time. It wasn't efficient."

For a business processing tens of thousands of tonnes each year, those lost seconds quickly became lost hours.

Looking Beyond a Standard Scalping Screen

Determined to increase capacity, Darren began researching alternative compost screening equipment. After reviewing several machines on the market, one stood out. The EDGE SCREENPRO S18. Rather than simply purchasing another standard scalping screen, Darren travelled to the EDGE Innovate headquarters in Northern Ireland to discuss exactly what the business needed.

"I did quite a bit of research and looked at a number of different machines before going across to the EDGE factory. They were very approachable, listened to exactly what we were trying to achieve and worked with us to develop a solution."

One idea Darren had always wanted to explore was conditioning the material before it reached the screening deck. Together with EDGE's engineering team, that idea became reality.

Engineering a Better Compost Screening Solution

Instead of allowing compacted compost to fall directly onto the screen deck, EDGE developed a hydraulically controlled rotating conditioning unit positioned above the hopper.  The system gently breaks apart clumps of compost before the material reaches the screen, allowing the entire screening surface to be utilised more effectively. Combined with the SCREENPRO S18's large screening area and high-capacity hopper, the result was exactly what Greentech had been looking for.

"I'd always had the idea of fitting a rotavator onto the hopper. Between us, we came up with the idea of fitting it to the top of the ScreenPro S18. EDGE also offered a bigger hopper, a larger screening deck and ultimately the machine we were looking for."

Why the EDGE SCREENPRO S18?

Designed for high-capacity applications across recycling, composting, construction and quarrying, the EDGE SCREENPRO S18 combines heavy-duty construction with exceptional screening performance.

Key features include:

• Large 18' x 6' (5.49m x 1.83m) aggressive flip-flow screening deck
• High-capacity feed hopper designed for wheel loaders and excavators
• Three-way product separation for multiple finished products
• Hydraulically folding conveyors for rapid deployment
• Remote-control operation
• Fast screen media changeover
• Heavy-duty design for demanding recycling and organics applications
• Excellent performance on wet, sticky and difficult materials

For compost producers, the large screening area and aggressive flip-flow action help prevent blinding while maintaining consistent throughput, even in challenging conditions.

One Machine. Multiple Products.

Versatility was another deciding factor. Greentech regularly switches between compost, screened soils, top dressing, woodchip and biomass. Changing machines—or spending hours making adjustments—simply wasn't practical.

"One of the key reasons we chose this machine was its versatility. We wanted to move from compost to top dressing, soils, mulch or biomass without making major changes to the machine."

The bespoke conditioning unit can also be disengaged in seconds.

"The only time we wouldn't use it is with rough soils containing stones. It simply lifts hydraulically out of the way, switches off and becomes a standard screener."

Around 50% More Production

The difference was immediate.

"Adding the rotavator to the ScreenPro S18 has completely transformed the machine. The biggest improvement isn't just breaking up the sticky lumps—it's making sure the screening deck is being fed properly all the time."

Rather than material arriving in large clumps, it now reaches the screen evenly distributed. That keeps the deck working at maximum efficiency throughout the screening process.

"We're seeing around a 50% increase in production compared to what we were achieving before."

The improvements don't stop there. By removing fines during the initial screening process, Greentech now processes material only once.

"We can now remove all of the fines at the beginning of the process, meaning the material only goes through the machine once. That has made the whole operation far more efficient."

For Darren, the biggest benefit is confidence. "Before, we were always trying to catch up with the workload. Now we're much more confident taking on additional work because we know we've got the capacity to process it."

Investing in the Future

For a family-run green waste processing company, investing in a new high-capacity screen represents a major commitment. Darren acknowledges that the SCREENPRO S18 was a significant investment for Greentech.

“This machine was a big investment. We are not a big company, so it has been a massive investment for us.”

However, the operational improvements have already demonstrated the value of the machine.

“But it is definitely paying off. I can see the benefits already.”

Those benefits include increased production, more consistent feeding, improved fines recovery, reduced repeat processing and greater flexibility across multiple applications. The machine has also helped Greentech remove a previous production bottleneck and make better use of its existing feedstock.

More Than Just a Machine

Greentech also credits the collaborative approach taken by both EDGE Innovate and UK distributor Red Knight 6 throughout the purchasing process.

"We spoke with EDGE several times before visiting the factory in Ireland. We were given a warm welcome, discussed exactly what we wanted to achieve and looked around the factory. Seeing everything from sheets of steel arriving through to finished machines leaving the factory gave us real confidence."

Working alongside Red Knight 6, Greentech also gained reassurance that aftersales support and spare parts would always be close at hand.

A Recommendation backed by 25 Years of Experience

Having owned trommel screens, star screens and flip-flow screens over the last two decades, Darren believes the SCREENPRO S18 has become the benchmark for compost screening.

"I'd definitely recommend this machine to other compost producers. We've owned trommels, star screens and flip-flow screens over the years. While the flip-flow machines gave us excellent quality, they couldn't deliver the production we needed. Moving to the larger ScreenPro S18 with the conditioning system has completely changed the way we work. It's incredibly efficient, gives us the throughput we've been looking for and, in my opinion, it's the best screening machine we've ever owned."

Producing More Compost Without Compromising Quality

As compost producers continue to face increasing demand, rising operating costs and tighter quality standards, investing in the right scalping screen has never been more important. For Greentech Services, the EDGE SCREENPRO S18 has delivered exactly what they set out to achieve: significantly higher throughput, greater operational flexibility and the confidence to grow their business without compromising the quality of the finished product.

Whether processing green waste, compost, topsoil, biomass or organic material, the SCREENPRO S18 continues to demonstrate why it is one of the industry's most capable mobile scalping screens for high-capacity screening applications.