Composting in the EU
SOURCE: CIWM, MARCH 2008
With the Landfill Directive a major driver for the diversion of biodegradable waste from landfill, and the draft Soils Directive having been shelved, how does EU law and policy impact on composting?
The point at which composted biowaste reaches end-of-waste is governed by the normal EU rules on waste – with the issue of whether discarding is taking place key. However, EC Animal By-Products Regulation is also relevant insofar as the feedstock for a compost contains catering waste or animal by-products – setting out various requirements for the composting process.
At one stage, the EU intended to produce a Biowaste Directive to deal with composting and other methods of treating biodegradable waste. This was to be encompassed within the Thematic Soil Protection Strategy, and would have introduced life-cycle thinking into the management of such wastes. However, this plan has been laid to rest, leaving compostable waste to battle it out with other priority waste streams in awaiting appropriate guidelines on end-of-waste status. It is therefore perhaps no wonder that the vast majority of compost products in the UK are classified as such for their compliance with PAS 100 and the Quality Protocol on Compost published by WRAP.
However, in the absence of clear EU legislation and policy on key issues, including restrictions on the application of waste-derived compost to agricultural land, is there a danger that markets for compost derived from non-source segregated and catering wastes will fail to be created and developed in time to help meet landfill diversion targets?
AUTHOR: VINCENT BROWN
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