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Ireland Getting Tough on Waste with New Source Separation of Commercial Food Waste Legislation (Statutory Instrument 508 of 2009) In December 2009, John Gormley, Minister for the Environment published the Food Waste Regulations (SI 508 of 2009) heralding national legislation for the source separation of food waste from major commercial premises. Only a handful of other European Countries such as Austria and Germany have introduced similar successful measures. In February, it is expected that the EU will make a decision if it will introduce a European Biowaste Directive for source separation and, if it does, Ireland will be a leading example for other member states.
These Regulations are designed to promote the segregation and recovery of food waste arising in the commercial sector. They will facilitate in particular the achievement of the targets set out in Directive 99/31/EC on the landfill of waste, for the diversion of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill sites to composting and anaerobic digestion plants and to other forms of biological treatment. The Minister being from the Green Party does not support incineration and he has specified in the legislation that the food waste cannot be sent to incineration. The Regulation also prohibits the disposal of source separated food waste into the residual collection service.
The Regulations impose obligations on the major producers of food waste, such as State buildings where food is prepared, restaurants and cafés, hot food outlets, canteens, hotels and larger guest houses, supermarkets and other food retailers, to segregate these materials and make them available for separate collection service (commonly known as a brown bin service in Ireland). Alternatively, these materials can be biologically treated (e.g. composted) on the premises where they arise under specified conditions. There is an exemption for the first year of the Regulation for small businesses which produce less than 50kg of food waste per week.
To comply with the Regulations, a waste producer must submit to the local authority a food waste management implementation report on the use, type, quantity, origin, management arrangements and destination of food waste. An annual environmental report (AER) may be prepared by a producer in response to a notification by local authority. This AER would contain the following:
(i) Quantities of food supplied to customers; (ii) Quantities of food waste consigned to biological treatment; (iii) Quantities of food waste managed by methods other than biological treatment; (iv) Quantities of food discarded as waste; (v) Measures proposed to reduce food waste; and (vi) Measures adopted to reduce food waste.
Interestingly the AER has to include measures in which the waste producer adopted to reduce food waste in the first place. Businesses, which already use a brown bin service in Ireland, found initially that by source separating food waste and weighing it (brown bin service in Ireland is charge by a per kilo basis), it astounds business on how much food waste they generate. This then has made some businesses examine ways to prevent food waste.
The Regulations indirectly curtail the use of in-sink macerators. The Regulations state that the output from an in-sink macerator cannot be disposed of into the sewer system.
These Regulations came into force on 1st January 2010. However the main part of the Regulations (segregating of the food waste, use of a brown bin collection service/ treating on-site, constraints on in-sink macerators) is not obligatory until 1st of July 2010.
The Regulations have many benefits for the waste producer as it helps them save money as they avoid the landfill levy as the food waste does not go for disposal. For waste collectors it makes it an even playing field as all collectors have to jump together at the same time and provide a brown bin service. For the processors, it gives them certainty for to build the composting and anaerobic digestion plants to process the food waste into quality compost and digestate.
More importantly at a Biowaste Industry Investment Summit hosted by Cré last year with banks and investment groups, in this very uncertain economic climate, this legislation gives them the security to provide capital funding to build the infrastructure to process the food waste. In the future for this reason alone many other European Countries should follow Ireland’s example if they want to reduce their reliance on landfills and incineration and provide national source separation legislation which will enable investment to happen, and most of important create 1000’s of badly needed jobs.
Beside the source separation legislation, the Government has announced many new initiatives that during 2010 that will divert significant quantities of organic waste from landfills. The new Government initiatives are:
The - landfill levy will be increased in a stepped effect over the next two years. By February 2010 the landfill levy will have been increased to €30 per tonne and will increase to €50 per tonne in 2011 and €75 per tonne in 2012; An - incineration levy of €20-38 per tonne will be introduced; The - Environmental Protection Agency Guidance on Pre-treatment of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to Landfill will restrict the amount of biodegradable municipal waste to landfill. Biodegradable municipal waste will have to be stabilised to a standard by composting/ anaerobic digestion so as to meet the requirements of the Directive and avoid the landfill levy. This comes into effect on the 1st of July 2010; The - Government Green Enterprise Action Group published its report and over the next six months the Prime Minister will be overseeing the implementation of its recommendations; - Section 60 Notice will restrict the amount of waste that can be sent to incineration; - Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff (REFIT) guarantee the price of electricity produced from an anaerobic digestion plants for 15 years; and - Review of Waste Management Policy - Some of the 26 recommendations include: · - National legislation that waste collectors of household waste provide a “weekly collection of food waste”; · - National legislation that household recycling centres have facilities for the collection of garden/ park waste; and · - Targets for the quantity of “residual waste” from households in a local authority area – if the local authority exceeds this, it will be fined €50 per tonne.
Emerging Trends Anaerobic Digestion is emerging as a technology to process food waste, due in part for its potential as a source of renewable energy. There is a significant interest amongst compost facilities to expand facilities by adding on an anaerobic digestion plant to treat food waste followed by post composting the digestate. Due to the interest of Cré members in this technology, members will be formally consulted to widen the remit of Cré to include anaerobic digestion.
To download the Food Waste Regulation 508 of 2009- CLICK HERE
To download a circular sent to the local authorities about the Food Waste Regulation CLICK HERE
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