Marketing Compost (EAWAG) - The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

5.2 Quality
A satisfied customer will tell one friend, but a dissatisfied customer will
tell ten!
Quality is the most important factor for ensuring satisfied customers and
continued sales. In some countries, farmers using low-quality compost on
their land have been dismayed at, or even injured by, contaminants such as
glass shards or even needles. Low quality compost can also contain invisible
contaminants such as toxic compounds or heavy metals, which may affect
the farmers and consumers in the long run and pollute groundwater. Compost
quality can be categorised into visible and invisible criteria as shown in
the following table.
Visible criteria:
Customers can assess
Colour
Smell
Visible foreign matter (plastic,
glass, wires)
Degree of maturity assessed by
colour and smell
Invisible criteria:
Customers cannot assess
Nutrient content (NPK)
Degree of maturity in terms of
chemical constituents
Suitability for plants (pH, salt
content)
Inactivation of weed seeds
Presence of pathogens
Heavy metal content
Table 5.1: Quality criteria for compost
Visible criteria are generally easier to control during production than invisible
criteria. Since the customer is not in a position to assess the most important
compost quality criteria (e.g. nutrient content) by its appearance, he has to
trust the information provided by the producers. Ways to gain customer confidence
include intensive process monitoring and quality control conducted by
independent laboratories. A compost quality label can also generate customer
confidence. This could be introduced and awarded by an independent regional
or national organisation acting as a control institution.
Marketing Compost—Product, positioning and location 57