Cré is seeking views on the Research Project ‘To Develop National End of Waste Standards for Quality Compost and Digestate’

In Ireland, there are no national End-of-Waste Criteria for quality compost and digestate derived from source-separated materials. In EPA licences for composting and anaerobic digestion (AD) plants, there is a quality standard as part of the licences, however in old licences the parameters and limit values vary considerably and in the recent licences the parameters and limit values have been adopted from the national compost standard I.S. 441 for compost but also for AD plants.
 
This project has examined best European practices as well as quality standards in Canada, America and Australia; and proposes an approach for End-of-Waste Criteria for compost and digestate in Ireland. In addition, the project has developed a quality standard for digestate and an updated compost standard, which are used as part of the End-of-Waste Criteria.
 
The project findings will inform the approach that should be taken to develop national End-of-Waste Criteria for compost and digestate in Ireland.
 
All submissions are welcome and will be considered in the finialisation of the report.
 
Confidential or commercially sensitive information should be clearly identified in your submission. By responding to the consultation, respondents consent to their name being shared with the steering committee.

Submissions must be made using this  template to the following email address: info@cre.ie

No other format will be accepted, this is to ensure we capture all the comments and to be able to consider them all in the context which they are submitted.

The consultation document can be downloaded here

The closing date for submissions is 5pm, Friday 12^th, June, 2020.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This is a consultation document on the research report funded by the EPA Research Programme 2014–2020. The programme is financed by the Irish Government. It is administered on behalf of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment by the EPA, which has the statutory function of co-ordinating and promoting environmental research.

Cré has produced a short video on covid for its members.

https://youtu.be/MLNsbtv7tjk

Press Release

21.10.2019

A third of Irish businesses surveyed don’t have a food waste bin

A new survey from RED C Research* has found that despite legislation for the last ten years requiring businesses to have and use a food waste bin, 33% do not have one.

The research highlights that among those who don’t have a food waste bin, the main reasons are that their waste collector did not provide it to them (30%), they have no space for the extra bin (14%) and 10% did not know about food waste bins. Cost of collection being expensive was lower down the list of reasons for not having a food waste bin, with only 6% of the businesses surveyed mentioning it.

The main reason why 66% of businesses reported using a food waste bin were because it is the law (37%), it’s environmentally friendly (31%) and it leaves other waste cleaner for recycling (24%).

Many businesses report that they are using the weight data provided by waste collectors to examine if they are producing too much food waste (67%) and have systems in place to reduce food waste (83%).

According to the businesses surveyed, infographics of what goes into different waste bins (98%), food waste reduction toolkit (88%), online videos on correct use of food waste bins/segregation of waste (77%) would be useful to help them recycle more food waste.

Percy Foster CEO of Cré said, “The findings show that there still is a lot more work to do in the commercial sector to recycle food waste. The Government will be consulting on the review of waste policy in Ireland and these findings will contribute to this review.”

Speaking on behalf of the three Regional Waste Offices, Joanne Rourke, Resource Efficiency Officer with the Eastern-Midlands Waste Regional Office commented, “While it is encouraging that two thirds of businesses are obeying the law and segregating food waste and indeed that many of these are doing so for environmental reasons, it is imperative that the remaining one third of businesses who are not currently using their brown bin begin doing so.”

“The Regional Waste Offices and the other stakeholders are currently developing resources to support businesses in addressing the deficits and difficulties they may be encountering in segregating their waste. Sending organic waste, such as food, to landfill has been illegal in the commercial sector since 2009 and food disposed of this way actually contributes to climate change through the gases it releases while breaking down. By properly segregating organic waste, businesses can play an important part in reducing waste to landfill and mitigating climate change.”

Odile Le Bolloch of the EPA’s Food Waste Prevention Team said; “It takes a lot of resources to put food on our tables and when food is wasted, the resources used to produce that food are wasted too. This impacts climate change, our local environment and business costs. Recent EPA-funded research^[1] found that the food services sector generates over 250,000 tonnes of food waste each year with a very considerable cost in terms of resource-use and business overheads – estimated at over €300M for the hospitality sector alone. To meet this environmental and financial challenge, food businesses need to measure the food being discarded, and then take action to reduce avoidable wastage.”

“Food businesses can show their commitment to reducing food waste by signing up to Ireland’s Food Waste Charter, a national initiative led by the EPA targeting food waste in the business sector. For businesses that want to reduce their food waste or need help to get started, support is available to businesses who sign the charter, including a food waste reduction toolkit.”

Download a copy of the report RED C- Commercial Food Waste Survey – Sept 2019

ENDS

Notes:

This survey was co–funded by the Department of Communication, Climate Action and Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Connaught-Ulster Waste Region, the Southern Waste Region, the Eastern–Midlands Waste Region and Cré – Composting and Anaerobic Digestion Association of Ireland.

*RED C Research conducted the research in August 2019 among the members of the Restaurant Association of Ireland, Vintner Federation of Ireland, Small Firms Association and IBEC (sample of 151 businesses).

Further information on food waste in commercial sectors and the Food Waste Charter can be found at https://foodwastecharter.ie/

^[1] https://foodwastecharter.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CTC-Research-Report-EPA-282.pdf

For further information please contact:

Maeve Kelly

Grapevine Communications

Email: maeve.grapevinepr@gmail.com

Telephone: 087 6895930

Press Release (05.06.2018)

Cré Welcomes Opening of Renewable Heat Scheme for Biogas

On Tuesday Minister Bruton opened the second phase of the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH), which will provide operational support anaerobic digestion heating systems and biomass boilers.

Percy Foster CEO of Cré said “We welcome this initiative from Minister Bruton and we particular see the food processing sector changing their processes as it will encourage them to install biogas plants to treat their own waste and to displace fossil fuels which would have been used for heating purposes within their processes”

Details on how operators can apply for their scheme should contact Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)- https://www.seai.ie/sustainable-solutions/support-scheme-renewable-/ (ssrh@seai.ie or 01-248-4982)

EPA Funded Research Project:

To Develop National End of Waste Standards for Quality Compost and Digestate

Cré is delighted to announce commencement of a research project on end of waste standards for quality compost and digestate in Ireland. This project is funded under the EPA Research Programme 2014-2020. The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.

In Ireland, there are no national End-of-Waste Criteria for quality compost and digestate derived from source-separated materials. In EPA licences for composting and anaerobic digestion (AD) plants, there is a quality standard as part of the licences, however in old licences the parameters and limit values vary considerably and in the recent licences the parameters and limit values have been adopted from the national compost standard I.S. 441 for compost but also for AD plants. The I.S. 441 was not developed for AD plants and some parameters are such as stability is not suitable. This has results in AD plants proposing different stability measurement. In some Local Authority Waste Permits for biogas plants, there is no quality standard specified for digestate.

This project will examine best European practices as well as quality standards in Canada, America and Australia; and propose an approach for End-of-Waste Criteria for compost and digestate in Ireland. In addition, the project will develop a quality standard for digestate and an updated compost standard, which could be used as part of the End-of-Waste Criteria.

The project findings would inform regulators and policy makers of any changes required to implement changes to quality standards in waste licences and waste permits and also what approach should be taken to develop national End-of-Waste Criteria for compost and digestate in Ireland.

During the project there will be a workshop to consult all stakeholders on the research.

ENDS

Further Information contact:

Percy Foster, percy@cre.ie. T: 086- 8129260

“DISCLAIMER: Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the material contained in this press release, complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Neither the Environmental Protection Agency nor the authors accept any responsibility whatsoever for loss or damage occasioned or claimed to have been occasioned, in part or in full, as a consequence of any person acting or refraining from acting, as a result of a matter contained in this press release.”

Notes to Editor:

“EPA Research Programme 2014–2020 The EPA’s current Research Programme 2014–2020 is built around three pillars – Sustainability, Climate and Water. More information about the EPA Research Programme can be found by visiting the EPA website where you can subscribe to the Research Newsletter. This provides news and updates about research calls, events and publications that are of relevance to researchers and other interested parties. You can also follow EPA Research on Twitter @EPAResearchNews for the information and developments about the Research Programme and its projects.”

Shine a Light – Focus Ireland

Thank you to all the Cre members who donated close to 4k to Focus Ireland – details on who donated can be found Shine a light Thank you

UCD & Cré are delighted to announce funding for a two-year research project “Agri Bio Circular Economy” (ABC Economy).

The project is kindly co-funded under the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland Research Development & Demonstration Funding Programme 2018 with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The project will be led by Dr Fionnuala Murphy of the School of Biosystems & Food Engineering, UCD. Recruitment of a full time Postdoctoral researcher will commence shortly.

ABC Economy will develop new sustainable value chains for the circular bioeconomy in Ireland by maximising value and minimising environmental impacts through cascading of biomass for production of biobased products and energy.

ABC Economy will engage with key stakeholders through project partner, Cré, and project collaborators, Tipperary County Council and Monaghan County Council, to develop sustainable value chains based on the bioresources available in each region.

ABC Economy will characterise available biomass in each region and assess the potential of valorisation processes for bioproduct and energy production in a circular economy context.

Key stakeholders (primary producer, processors, waste management companies etc.) will be engaged throughout the project to identify important resources, constraints to valorisation, and potential opportunities. Central to ABC Economy is the full supply chain sustainability analysis to examine synergies and trade-offs between using biomass for energy generation and biobased products and will highlight possibilities to minimise trade-offs by considering the impacts of circular economy principles and cascading.

ABC Economy value chains will be developed in line with key stakeholders to ensure the viability and potential uptake of these novel value chains. ABC Economy complements existing National and International research examining agri-food waste valorisation and bioeconomy development e.g. BEACON, BioEire, AgroCycle, AgriValor. However, ABC Economy advances beyond this research by incorporating holistic life cycle assessment along with market analysis and stakeholder engagement in the development of sustainable value chains for the bioeconomy. ABC Economy will be an exemplar for the development of the sustainable regional bioeconomy in Ireland.

Cré -REA Bioeconomy Study Tour to Italy on 13^th to 15^th October 2019
Cré, in partnership with Organics Recycling Group of the Renewable Energy Association and the Biobased and Biodegradable Industries Association, has put together a bioeconomy study tour in the Milan and Venetto regions of Italy to visit:
? Food waste collections systems in Milan
? Composting/biogas plant
? Novamont’s Head Quarters and Research Laboratories
? SESA’s integrated composting/anaerobic digestion plant.

The tour will allow you to learn what the leading pioneers in Italy are doing to develop the Italian bioeconomy sector. The study tour is intended to give an overview of current best-practices and approaches in food waste separate collection and recycling.

The tour has options for attending 2 or 3 days.
Download the tour programme Bioeconomy Study Tour Northern Italy 2019
 
To make a booking, please fill in the Cre-REA-BBIA Study Tour Booking Form and email contact
Sinead Clinton
E: sinead@cre.ie
T: 0861747941

Press Release 14.8.2018

Ireland ‘will lead the way’ with New Certification Scheme

for Compostable Products

The position on compostable cups, packaging and products in Ireland:

• Of the composting sites which accept brown bin material, the majority of them are accepting compostable cups/ materials which meet the EU standard EN I.S. 13432 and the remaining sites are conducting trials.

• The emergence of new compostable products on the market is a recent development and the market is steadily adapting to accommodate this new reality in terms of compostable packaging waste policy, standards and related best practice.

• Compost site owners however are concerned that products not certified to the EU Standard EN I.S. 13432 are entering the market and causing contamination in compost.

Cré hosted an industry meeting last March which brought packaging companies and composting sites together to discuss the issue of new compostable products entering the market and has since met various other key stakeholders including Minister Naughten’s officials.

Percy Foster, CEO of Cré, said “From the consultation process the industry has determined an action plan to address the compostable waste challenge. Cré is now developing an independent Certification Scheme for compostable products in Ireland, which will be launched in quarter 4”.

The proposed Cré scheme will award a logo which can be printed on cups and other compostable packaging and products to give them a clear compostable identity which will give them visibility for brown bin collection and further organic recycling in composting plants.

The scheme will provide reassurance to buyers, consumers and composting sites that a product is truly compostable in Ireland’s approved industrial compost facilities and it will also promote those compostable products that have achieved certification to the scheme. This industry initiative to be led by Cré will clearly identify which products are compostable and remove any confusion on the matter from within the market.”

ENDS

Contact:

Percy Foster, CEO of Cré

E: percy@cre.ie                                T: 086 8129260