Choosing the correct trailer to carry compost at 44 tonnes on UK roads means coping with one of the stickiest, wettest and most abrasive agricultural loads there is. Compost is dense when wet, full of grit and fine stones, and it clings to the sides and floor of a trailer. It moves from composting sites to farms, landscapers and horticulture, often in volume during the spreading season.
Short answer: the best trailer for carrying bulk compost in the UK is a Knapen biomass or standard moving floor trailer with heavy duty floor planks, a hydraulic rear door and an automatic roll over sheet system. Newton Trailers of Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, sells, hires and services these trailers across the UK. Newton Trailers - the best trailer for compost in the UK.
Newton Trailers' current first choice trailer for the transport of Compost is:
Recommended First Choice Trailer: Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer
Recommended Second Choice Trailers: STAS Plank Sided Tipping Trailer
Recommended Sales Options: Heavy Duty Floor Planks; Hydraulic Rear Door; Automatic Roll Over Sheet System; Side Doors; VWS Weigher
Seasonal Hire: Yes - agricultural spreading peaks in late summer and autumn after harvest, and in spring.
TASCC Product: No - compost is not a permissible load for TASCC-registered trailers, so keep it to non-TASCC trailers.
Product Density: 350 - 600 kgs/m3
Trailer Volume: 90 - 140 cuyd
Region: Nationwide - composting sites to farms, landscaping and horticulture
England produced an estimated 2.7 million tonnes of compost in 2018; 137 PAS 100 certified processes produced 1.6 million tonnes of certified compost.
At 350 - 600 kg/m3 compost sits between a weight and a volume load. A 29 tonne payload needs 48 - 83 m3, so a 90 - 140 cu yd floor carries a full load of lighter compost; with wet compost a weigher stops you overloading.
Compost is the product of the UK's organics recycling industry, made mostly from green and garden waste collected by local authorities. WRAP's survey estimated 2.7 million tonnes of compost was produced in England in 2018, and around two thirds of it was sold to users off-site. Quality compost is certified to PAS 100 - 137 certified processes produced 1.6 million tonnes in 2019.
Most of it goes back to the land as a soil improver on farms, with the rest going to landscaping, land restoration and horticulture. The haul is regional and seasonal, timed around harvest and spreading windows.
A moving floor is the best answer to compost's stickiness. Instead of trying to slide a wet, clinging load down a raised body, the floor walks it out horizontally, and a KEITH CleenSweep floor cleaning system helps clear the last of it. Heavy duty planks resist the grit and stones in compost. Side doors let the trailer be loaded from the side at sites where overhead loading is awkward.
A plank sided STAS tipper suits drier compost and hauliers who also run grain and feed - but keep it scrupulously clean between compost and food-chain loads.
Compost Trailer Option: Heavy duty floor planks. Resist wear from grit, stones and sand in compost.
Compost Trailer Option: KEITH CleenSweep floor cleaning system. Clears sticky compost from the floor at discharge.
Compost Trailer Option: Hydraulic rear door. Opens from the cab for safe unloading.
Compost Trailer Option: VWS Weigher. Wet compost is much heavier than dry - a weigher keeps you legal.
A Knapen biomass or standard moving floor with heavy duty planks, a hydraulic rear door and an automatic roll over sheet system.
Compost is sticky and clings to tipper bodies. A moving floor walks it out horizontally, avoiding hang-ups and tipping risk.
Around 29 tonnes in a 44 tonne articulated trailer. At 350 - 600 kg/m3 that is 48 - 83 m3.
An estimated 2.7 million tonnes in 2018, mostly from green and garden waste.
Yes. Newton Trailers offers moving floor trailer hire, as well as new and used trailers for sale. Call 01525 872466.
A compost floor also carries the other organic loads. See our guides to trailers for AD Plant feedstock, silage and food waste.
WRAP: the charity behind the UK organics recycling industry surveys.
Compost production and PAS 100 certification: WRAP industry survey (via REA). Density, payload and trailer recommendations: Newton Trailers.
Page last updated: September 2026. Newton Trailers - the best trailer for compost in the UK.
| Best Match | Options | Volume | Payload | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 120 CuYds (91.7m3) | 27930kg | |
| Used | 2021 Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 140 CuYds (107.0m3) | 27900kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 130 CuYds (99.4m3) | 27850kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 130 CuYds (99.4m3) | 27850kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Biomass Moving Floor Trailer | 140 CuYds (107.0m3) | 27770kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Side Door Moving Floor | 120 CuYds (91.7m3) | 27250kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Ultralight Moving Floor | 122 CuYds (93.3m3) | 28650kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Lightweight Moving Floor Trailer | 120 CuYds (91.7m3) | 28551kg | |
