Growing media supplier William Sinclair has acquired the assets and business of compost manufacturer Yorkshire Horticultural Supplies (YHS).
The acquisition has been made by William Sinclair's specialist soils subsidiary Freeland Horticulture
Ltd, and represents a strategic move by the company into composting, as well as a commitment to increase production of its peat-free products.

The YHS site currently processes 40,000 tonnes of park and garden waste per year, most of which is turned into green compost. In addition to this, 10-15% of the waste remains as a by-product called 'oversize', which will now provide raw material for Freeland's peat alternative product SuperFyba.

William Sinclair says it is looking to invest in YHS and to expand the tonnage processed at the site. YHS already holds contracts to process green waste on behalf of Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham local authorities, and Freeland will tender for other local authority contracts in the region as they come up for tender.

William Sinclair Holdings chief executive Bernard Burns said: "The quality of green composts currently available is generally poor. The primary interest of most processors is to keep costs down and the marketability of the end product does not concern them. Our primary interest, in contrast, is the end product and we have concluded that the best way to ensure an excellent quality product is to take full responsibility for the composting process itself.

"The UK government's goal of eliminating peat from horticulture will only be met when the quality of peat alternatives is comparable with the current peat-based product."