How it is Made

Bioboost^® is made from the surplus bugs (micro-organisms) that are used in the aeration basins at New Plymouth's Wastewater Treatment Plant to eat the waste in the wastewater. These bugs are separated from the effluent (water) in our clarifiers, concentrated in the thickeners, have excess water squeezed out of them in the belt presses, and then are dried, sterilised and palletised in the rotary drier.

At the end of this process there are no bugs alive, instead they are in a material form that is suitable for beneficial reuse.

Our biosolids are manufactured in accordance with the 2003 “Guidelines for the Safe Application of Biosolids to Land in New Zealand” which grades the product according to its quality and level of contaminants.

Bioboost^® has the highest ‘A’ grade for pathogens meaning the product is sterilised and safe to use.

Bioboost^® meets the highest grade ‘A’ for the eight metals of concern apart from zinc and copper. Zinc is over the 300mg/kg limit, with a recent annual average of 580mg/kg and copper [at 180mg/kg] is marginally over the 100mg/kg limit. When used at the correct agronomic nitrogen rates of 200kg total nitrogen per hectare per year, metal contaminants are no longer an issue and comply with recommended soil limits in the guidelines. This equates to a maximum Bioboost^® application rate of 33kg/100m²/year (or 330g/m²/year).

See our Safety Data Sheet for health and safety information.

Typical Nutrient Analysis

  It will not burn plant tissue or roots as it is not a chemical salt fertiliser.

  Bioboost^® contains environmentally friendly phosphorus – the inorganically bound phosphorus found in Bioboost^® binds itself in the soil remaining available for plant uptake reducing the risk of nutrients leaching into our waterways.

  Does not produce long internodes like some other nitrogen fertilisers can do especially when they are applied at high rates.

Related link

Milorganite (This is the American equivalent to Bioboost^®.)