Not only is Toscana’s compost being used by at least 60 percent of Nantucket’s landscape companies, but more recently for homeowners thanks to its newly bagged soils. But there’s a lot more that goes into the product than what’s seen on the surface. It starts with the landscapers, who bring remnants of leaves, grass clippings, garden plant remains and more to the yard. Prior to Toscana’s efforts, all of these “ingredients” were being brought to the local landfill.

“If you think about all the construction taking place on our little island, the landscape that goes into these properties is substantial. We’re talking tractor trailer loads of trees and plants and shrubs every day. … They need to be manicured, the material generated from these plants needs to be dealt with,” Rogers explains. “It’s not 1980; you can’t just bury that material in the landfill because we’re on an island and that landfill can only get so big.” More recently, Toscana also started accepting green crabs, an invasive species on the island. Rogers and his team, lovingly known as the “Bag Boys” (John Paul Correia, Connor Pierce and Matt Finlay), are shoveling out 10 pallets a day, each of which holds 88 bags of compost.

When it comes to creating the mixtures, Rogers refers to himself as a “chef.” It starts with the materials brought by the landscapers and dropped at the main yard at 19 Arrowhead Drive, which is then transported to the company’s Bunker Road facility.

There, 10-foot-high, 80-to-150-foot-long and 25-foot-wide piles are prepared for the aerated windrow process of composting, which involves forming the organic piles of waste in windrows and aerating them periodically by either manually or mechanically turning them. Rogers also keeps a large thermometer on hand to regularly check the temperature of the compost. An ideal temperature of 120 to 140 degrees kills off any weed seed and keeps the nutrients in the soil active.

From there, the piles are trucked over to another facility, where the compost goes through a trommel screener twice, before being mixed with Rogers’ secret ingredients (dependent on each type of soil) and packaged by the Bag Boys. Of course, New England’s unpredictable weather can create a few obstacles, but nothing that the team can’t fix. Rogers adds, “The majority of this material that’s breaking down is in the winter months. And it just rains. It’s not good for the processing procedure, but it’s good for hydrating my compost.”

Since starting, Toscana’s composting business has grown so large that the company just leased an additional parcel of land from Nantucket Airport. It will be used specifically for processing, recycling and producing locally sourced soil. “We have it right under our feet,” Rogers concludes. “It really struck: the idea that we can make this … a really good product and be sustainable on this island. Local is cool.”

To purchase the compost, go online at toscanacorp.com or on-site at 19 Arrowhead Drive.