NOVELTY - A compost particle separation unit that can form a plastic-free compost product cheaply and without being labor-intensive    USE - The compost particle separation unit is useful for separating out and forming oversize bulking agents, standard bulking agents, coarse compost, fine compost, and plastic    ADVANTAGE - A plastic-free compost product is formed cheaply in a process that is not labor-intensive    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - An apparatus for separating plastic material from shredded plastic compost mixture, comprises:    (a) a vertically-aligned elongated walled vessel of circular cross-section having an intake opening and portion at the top, and an exhaust opening and portion at the bottom, with a body portion between them;    (b) a horizontally-aligned circular rotatable platform within the intake opening portion having a top surface whose diameter is less than that in (a) and whose longitudinal axis is aligned with that of (a);    (c) rotation for the platform;    (d) a pipe having a circular opening that lies with the vessel body and underneath (c), whose longitudinal axis is aligned with that of (a), and whose diameter is less than that of (b);    (e) a support for the attachment of the platform to the interior surface of (a);    (f) a support for the attachment of (d) to the interior surface of (a);    (g) a jet nozzle circumferentially located in the interior of the vessel body adjacent to and below the pipe opening; and    (h) a drawer for a continuous volume of air into (a) through the intake and pipe openings.    INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are also included for separating the plastic component from the compost mixture. The method comprises initially separating larger organic material from shredded mixture, delivering this to a first stage separation unit and separating a coarser compost component from the mixture, drawing off lighter fine compost and plastic components into a pipe by suction then transporting it to a second stage separation unit by an air stream, exiting the heavier coarse components not drawn into the pipe at the base of the first stage separation unit under gravity, and further separating plastic material from the fine compost at the second stage separation unit.