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Fired Up For CompostingPress Release from: Cré - Composting Association of Ireland Teo
Regarding: Cré 4th Annual Composting Seminar held in Tullamore Court Hotel, May 6th 2004. Record breaking attendance at the recent 4th Annual Composting Seminar organised by Cre-Composting Association of Ireland Teo in Tullamore, made obvious the growing interest in the composting industry in Ireland. The seminar was attended by a wide range of delegates stemming from local authorities, the EPA, NGO's, governmental departments and by people directly involved in the composting industry. The Minister for State Pat the Cope Gallagher officially opened the seminar reiterating “ waste management is now one of the most problematic environmental issues that we currently face in Ireland. Yet i n spite of this, Ireland still significantly lags behind most of our fellow EU Member States in terms of waste infrastructure, being heavily reliant on landfill as a means of dealing with our waste”. “This, we all know, is not a sustainable option for our long-term future and does not accord with the internationally recognised hierarchy of waste management options to which I am committed to pursuing and on which our policy is firmly grounded” added the minister. “Composting is at the heart of the Draft National Biowaste Strategy” according to Brendan O'Neil from the DOEH&LG. The department plan to pursue the introduction of separate collection systems of food waste from households whilst concentrating on market development to ensure suitable outlets for the finished product. Up to 350,000 tonnes of food and garden waste will be converted into high quality compost annually in Ireland when the Strategy is fully implemented. An Austrian expert Florian Amlinger discussed Austria's approach to waste management where decentralised farm based composting plants play a major role in an integrated approach to waste management. Twelve years ago, Austria was in the same situation as Ireland right now and faced with the serious issue of rapidly declining landfill space. Mr. Amlinger stated that ‘the Austrian model developed could be easily applied in the Irish context and supply an alternative source of revenue to Irish Farmers”. Mr. Amlinger applauded the draft National Biowaste Strategy and especially the target set for home composting, an initiative in which 40% of the Irish population could be involved. Mr Cáolan Woods from Natural Worlds Products Ltd discussed the need and benefits of introducing a compost quality assurance scheme in Ireland. Natural Worlds Products are the first compost producing facility In Ireland to achieve certification from The UK Composting Association to BSI PAS 100, the quality standard for British composted materials. The seminar came to a close with a brief introduction into some of the technical research carried out by Cré into compost quality in Ireland, bioaerosols, developments in new environmental legislation, and a study into the feasibility of introducing a quality standard in Ireland. Cré is a not for profit organisation and was established in 2001. Its mission statement is: “to promote composting and compost utilisation in Ireland. The Association's function is to infuse best practices into the development of an industry; promote public awareness; and to promote research and the development of an information storehouse on composting and compost utilisation.” Contact – info@cre.ie
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