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Florida Department of Transportation Specifications for Composted Materials 1
G. Kidder, G.L. Miller and D.J. Horhota2This fact sheet presents the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) specifications for composted materials that are applied to medians and roadsides in Florida. The purpose of this publication is to present in readily available form all the pertinent information on the FDOT compost specifications found in the book Florida Department of Transportation Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, 2000. This information is found on page 953 of the 1,012-page book which is available for $20 from the FDOT Specifications Office in Tallahassee. The book can also be ordered from the web site shown in the Web Links section of this fact sheet.
General Requirements
All composts used in FDOT projects must meet requirements of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for unrestricted distribution, i.e., the material must be classified as one of the following:
The regulations for these materials can be found in FDEP Rule 62.709.550 for solid waste composts and in Rule 62.640.850 for domestic waste water residuals (biosolids). The rules are available on the web in pdf format at the addresses shown in the Web Links section of this fact sheet.
- Type Y (yard waste compost)
- Type YM (yard waste and manure compost)
- Type A (municipal solid waste compost containing <2% foreign matter)
- Type AA biosolids (composted biosolids).
Compost as a Soil Amendment
In addition to the general requirements listed above, if the electrical conductivity (a.k.a. EC or soluble salt) value of the compost exceeds 4.0 dS/m (mmhos/cm) based on the saturated paste extract method, compost used as a soil amendment must be leached with water prior to application.Compost for Use as Mulch
In addition to the general requirements noted above, compost that will be used as a mulch must meet the following:
- It shall contain no foreign matter such as glass, plastic, or metal shards.
- Over half of the solids should be from particles at least one halfin size but no greater than six inches (i.e., the material should be slightly coarse to coarse in nature).
- Preference shall be given to compost or mulch made from uncontaminated woody waste materials.
Web Links
To order the book, Florida Department of Transportation Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, 2000: http://www.caistore.com/mapspubs/Publications_List.aspFlorida Department of Transportation home page: http://www.dot.state.fl.us
Florida Department of Environmental Protection home page: http://www.dep.state.fl.us
FDEP Solid Waste Rule (8 pages in pdf format): http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/quick_topics/rules/documents/62-709.pdf
FDEP Domestic Wastewater Residuals Rule (17 pages in pdf format): http://www.dep.state.fl.us/legal/rules/wastewater/62-640.pdf
Related Publications
Kidder, G. and G.L. Miller. 2002. Application Rates and Techniques for Using Composted Materials in Florida DOT Projects. Fact Sheet SL-140. Fla. Coop. Ext. Serv., IFAS, Univ. of Fla., Gainesville. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/SS193.Black, RJ., G. Kidder, and G.L. Miller. 2002. Some Florida Producers of Composts and Organic Mulches. Fact Sheet ENH 127. Fla. Coop. Ext. Serv., IFAS, Univ. of Fla., Gainesville.
Miller, G.L. and R.J. Black. 2002. Using Composted Materials in Florida Roadside Plantings. Fact Sheet ENH 126 Fla. Coop. Ext. Serv., IFAS, Univ. of Fla., Gainesville. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP049.
Miller, G.L., M.S. Harrell, G. Kidder, and R.J. Black. 2002. Composted Materials on Florida Roadsides. Fact Sheet ENH 872. Fla. Coop. Ext. Serv., IFAS, Univ. of Fla., Gainesville.
Footnotes
1. This document is SL-139, one of a series of fact sheets of the Soil and Water Science Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published: May 1998; Revised: August 2002. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. Gerald Kidder, professor, Soil and Water Science Department; Grady L. Miller, associate professor, Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611-0290; David J. Horhota, Ph.D., P.E., State Geotechnical Materials Engineer, State Materials Office, Florida Department of Transportation, Gainesville.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.