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Overland, a UK crop-removal and growing media business, has built a process to recover used coir, clean and treat it, and sell it for another growing cycle. Research with NIAB has reported comparable strawberry yields to virgin coir and water savings of about 8% to 10% in some commercial trials. Whether the model can work in North America remains uncertain because local materials, logistics, and costs differ.
Overland, a UK crop-removal and growing media business, has developed a commercial process to collect used coir grow bags, separate and treat the material, and sell it for reuse. A Greenhouse Grower report says research with UK agricultural research organization NIAB has found that appropriately processed recycled coir can produce strawberry yields comparable to virgin coir, pointing to reuse as a possible source of growing media as demand and raw-material availability shift.
Overland began in 2010 by providing mechanized crop-removal services to greenhouse growers, initially working with tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. As the company expanded into soft fruit, it faced the problem of removing used coir grow bags containing roots and plant residues. It developed processes to recover the coir and now brings together collection, separation, processing, and sales rather than offering treatment equipment alone.
The report describes work with NIAB that includes laboratory analysis, biological testing, and commercial growing trials. It says results have shown comparable yields to virgin coir when recycled material is processed appropriately. Some commercial trials reported water savings of about 8% to 10%; the report does not specify a single trial period or a universal result, so the figure should not be treated as a guaranteed saving.
Overland uses a containerized superheated-steam system supplied by Konflex to pasteurize recovered growing media under controlled conditions. The report emphasizes that pasteurization is not sterilization and that the process is only one part of recovery. Used material must also be collected, separated, processed, tested, and delivered in a form growers can manage.
Reuse Could Ease Media Supply Pressure
For growers facing tighter or more complex access to raw materials, recovered substrate could provide another input alongside virgin coir and other media components. The potential value is not just diverting spent bags from disposal: a functioning recovery service could return usable material to production while taking on handling work that individual growers may not want to manage themselves.
But a yield comparison alone does not establish that reuse will be cheaper or suitable for every crop. The report notes differences in water-holding capacity and air-filled porosity, properties that can affect irrigation and root conditions. Growers may need to adjust management, and suppliers would need to show consistent quality and biological safety. The commercial case depends on those requirements as well as processing, transport, and waste costs.
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From Crop Removal to Coir Recovery
The report frames Overland’s work against increasing demand for growing media and more complex raw-material availability. Much industry discussion has focused on alternative ingredients; Overland’s approach asks whether some spent substrate can be recovered after a crop instead of being replaced outright.
Its work developed from a practical greenhouse challenge: coir grow bags came out with roots, plastic, and plant residues attached. Overland built a service around dealing with that material. The report also describes seeing raspberry plants growing in reused substrate at the company, including root development during a third growing season. That observation is a field example, not a controlled comparison; the research and commercial trials provide a different kind of evidence.
The company’s UK setting matters when considering whether the model could travel. North American operations use a mix of peat, coir, bark, wood fiber, and other components, with regional differences in supply, transport, cropping systems, and waste rules. A recovery operation that works in Kent may not make economic or operational sense elsewhere.
““We’re here to supply you a good quality, good value material, and just take care of that headache for you.””
— Henry Miles, as quoted in the Greenhouse Grower report
North American Fit Remains Unproven
The report does not establish whether Overland’s process would be profitable or practical in North America, nor does it identify a North American launch, partner, or operating site. Regional variation in substrate inputs, distances, labor, waste requirements, and crop systems could alter the economics. The available material also does not provide detailed trial designs, sample sizes, or cost comparisons.
Performance is not identical to virgin coir: reported differences in water-holding capacity and air-filled porosity may require irrigation changes. The report also does not provide organism-specific validation data for steam treatment. Pasteurization is intended to reduce biological risks, but it is not sterilization; treatment effectiveness depends on the target risks and material conditions. Further evidence would be needed before assuming identical results across crops or facilities.
Local Trials Would Test the Model
The next practical test for any North American application would be local evaluation of feedstock, collection logistics, processing capacity, and the cost of returning treated media to growers. Crop trials would also need to assess yield, irrigation requirements, substrate consistency, and biological outcomes under regional production conditions.
For now, the report presents Overland as an operating UK example, not a confirmed North American expansion. Further trial results and evidence about costs, quality control, and treatment performance would help growers judge whether reuse belongs in their media plans. Until those details are available, the opportunity is a model to evaluate rather than a proven fit for every greenhouse.
Key Questions
What does Overland do with used growing media?
Overland collects used coir grow bags, separates coir from plastic, roots, and plant residues, processes and treats the material, then sells recovered media for reuse.
What results have trials reported?
The report says appropriately processed recycled coir produced strawberry yields comparable to virgin coir in research with NIAB. Some commercial trials reported water savings of about 8% to 10%; the report does not present that range as a guaranteed result for all crops or sites.
Does steam treatment sterilize the growing media?
No. The report describes the Konflex superheated-steam system as a pasteurization step and explicitly distinguishes pasteurization from sterilization. Treatment needs validation for relevant organisms and material conditions.
Could the system work in North America?
That remains uncertain. North American regions differ in media ingredients, transport costs, cropping systems, and waste requirements. The report describes no confirmed North American operation or expansion.
Source: greenhousegrower.com
