Composting can be serious business. Just ask David Hillier of Austin.

Hillier, the owner of Hillier's Composting, has been composting the yard waste of Austin residents since 1993 after the city banned burning yard waste during the autumn. "I thought it was something that would work really well with a farm operation," Hillier says.

Indeed, it has.

Hillier says when he first started accepting yard waste, he only took grass clippings, but "in less than a year, we were taking brush and wood trimmings."

For a fee, people can leave their grass clippings, leaves, brush, branches and hedge clippings in a "holding area" on Hillier's front lawn. There, the waste is divided into "soft stem" material and "woody" material.

Hillier says the woody material (mostly branches and brush) then is heaped into a big pile on his property and once a year, he hires someone to grind it into wood mulch.

When the pile of soft stem waste (mostly grass clippings and leaves) gets big enough, Hillier hauls it to an area on his property where it is placed in wind rows and periodically turned. As it rains, the material begins to compost and after a year to a year and a half, it deteriorates into soil that can be used in gardens and Hillier sells it for that purpose.

"It's very high organic matter, very similar to peat soil," Hillier explains. "When it's mixed with mineral soil, the roots grow better and it holds more water, more moisture."

The idea behind Hillier's business follows the "reduce, reuse, recycle" philosophy of environmentalists. "It truly follows that. The material is reduced by 80 percent after it's composted, it can be reused around flower beds and it can be recycled … into other plants as they grow," he says.

It may seem like a strange business venture, but Hillier says "quite a few farmers are involved in composting … I just chose yard waste because my location is close to town, so it's convenient for people. They're very appreciative of that."

His busiest times of the year are April, May and June and in the fall. Hillier says he can get as many as 75 to 100 people on a nice, sunny day. Of course, far fewer people come on cold, rainy days. "I don't think I had more than two people out here last Saturday," he says, chuckling.

He charges 50 cents if a bag or garbage can full of yard waste is dumped, $10 for a full trailer or pickup load of soft stem waste and $15 for a full trailer or pickup load of brush.

"We accept any yard waste, but we really don't like to see plastic or wet garbage and we don't want people bringing in yard waste with rocks or concrete mixed in," he says. "The public has been really good about that. They generally sort it really well because they know that if the service is going to continue they need to respect the requirements."

Composted soil is sold for 50 cents for a 5-gallon pail, $3 for a 30-gallon pail and $15 for one cubic yard.

"If someone wants a pickup load of soil, they should call ahead and we can set up an appointment and I can load it up with the tractor," Hillier says.

People can drop off yard waste or pick up composted soil year-round, from 8 a.m. to sunset, Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays. In December and early January, Hillier even accepts Christmas trees for $1.

Hillier's Composting is located at 1613 31st St. SW. For more information, call 437-4216.

Amanda L. Rohde can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at :mailto:amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com