Document added 26 Jan. by Izabela Stacewicz, 2degrees
This study presents a picture of the possibilities for recovering biodegradable waste, including the areas of information that need to be documented for defining end-of-waste criteria.
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1
Technical report for
End-of-waste criteria on
Biodegradable waste subject to
biological treatment
Second Working Document
11 October 2011
IPTS
Seville, Spain
2
Table of contents
Table of contents...................................................................................................................... 2
1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 Background................................................................................................................ 4
1.2 Objectives ..................................................................................................................5
1.3 Scope definition ......................................................................................................... 5
1.4 Structure of this document ......................................................................................... 7
2 Background information on compost and digestate.................................................... 9
2.1 Types of biodegradable waste .................................................................................... 9
2.2 Treatment options .................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Developments in the treatment of biodegradable waste ........................................... 13
2.4 Compost and digestate applications ......................................................................... 17
2.5 Economic and market aspects .................................................................................. 21
2.6 Standards and technical specifications ..................................................................... 37
2.7 Legislative aspects ................................................................................................... 46
2.8 Environmental and health issues .............................................................................. 56
3 JRC Sampling and analysis campaign...................................................................... 68
3.1 Background information .......................................................................................... 68
3.2 Status ....................................................................................................................... 70
3.3 Analytical results...................................................................................................... 70
4 End-of-waste criteria................................................................................................ 77
4.1 Background information .......................................................................................... 77
4.2 Outline of EoW criteria............................................................................................ 85
4.3 Product quality requirements for compost and digestate .......................................... 85
4.4 Requirements on input materials.............................................................................. 92
4.5 Requirements on treatment processes and techniques .............................................. 98
4.6 Requirements on the provision of information ....................................................... 101
4.7 Requirements on quality assurance procedures (quality management)................... 105
4.8 Application of end-of-waste criteria....................................................................... 109
5 Description of impacts ........................................................................................... 111
5.1 Environmental and health impact........................................................................... 111
5.2 Economic impact.................................................................................................... 114
5.3 Market impact........................................................................................................ 116
5.4 Legislative impact.................................................................................................. 118
6 References.............................................................................................................. 122
7 Glossary and acronyms .......................................................................................... 124
8 Annexes ................................................................................................................. 126
3
Legal notice
This document is a draft containing work under progress. The orientation and content of this document
cannot be taken as indicating the position of the European Commission or its services. Neither the
European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that
might be made of the information in this document.
4
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
The Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC, in the following referred to as ‘the Directive’
or WFD) among other amendments introduces a new procedure for defining end-of-waste
(EoW) criteria, which are criteria that a given waste stream has to fulfil in order to cease to be
waste.
Waste streams that are candidates for this procedure must have undergone a recovery
operation, and comply with a set of specific criteria. These criteria are yet to be defined for
each specific waste stream, but the general conditions that a waste material has to follow are
defined by Article 6 of the WFD in the following terms:
‘certain specified waste shall cease to be waste [within the meaning of point (1) of Article 3]
when it has undergone a recovery, including recycling, operation and complies with specific
criteria to be developed in accordance with the following conditions:
a) The substance or object is commonly used for a specific purpose;
b) A market or demand exists for such a substance or object;
c) The substance or object fulfils the technical requirements for the specific purpose referred
to in (a) and meets the existing legislation and standards applicable to products; and
d) The use of the substance or object will not lead to overall adverse environmental or
human health impacts.’
Moreover, Articles 6(2) and 39(2) of the Directive specify the political process of decision-
making for the criteria on each end-of-waste stream, which in this case is a Comitology
procedure
1
with Council and Parliament scrutiny, the output taking the form of a Regulation.
As input to decision-making in Comitology, the European Commission is to prepare
proposals for end-of-waste criteria for a number of specific waste streams, including
biodegradable waste.
A methodology guideline
2
to develop end-of-waste criteria has been elaborated by the Joint
Research Centre's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) as part of the
so-called ‘End-of-Waste Criteria report’. The European Commission is now working on
preparing proposals for end-of-waste criteria for specific waste streams according to the legal
conditions and following the JRC methodology guidelines. As part of this work, and for each
candidate waste stream, the IPTS will prepare studies with technical information that will
support each of the proposals for end-of-waste criteria. Besides describing the criteria, these
studies will include all the background information necessary for ensuring conformity with
the conditions of Article 6 of the Directive.
For each waste stream, the background studies will be developed based on the contributions
of experts from Member States and from interested stakeholders, by means of a technical
working group. The working groups are composed of experts from Member States
administration, industry, NGOs and academia. Experts of these groups are expected to
(
1
) The progress of the Comitology processes on the WFD can be followed at: http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regcomitology/index_en.htm
(
2
) End-of-waste documents from the JRC-IPTS are available from http://susproc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/activities/waste/. See in particular the operational
procedure guidelines of Figure 5 in the "End-of-Waste Criteria" report.
5
contribute with data, information or comments to written documents and through participation
in expert workshops organised by the IPTS. Individual experts may be asked to assist to the
workshops on a case by case basis.
The communication procedure is as follows: for each waste stream IPTS takes initiative and
submits background documents with questions to the technical working group. Open
questions are discussed with the experts at the workshops, and if needed to clarify individual
elements, by personal communication. IPTS collects the necessary information from the
experts, as appropriate before and/or and after the workshops, and synthesises this
information in draft documents. At the end of the process for each waste stream, these
documents result in technical proposals on end-of-waste, and are submitted to DG
Environment for further use in the preparation of proposals of Commission Regulations.
In the political decision process, Member States (Comitology in the Technical Adaptation
Committee under the Waste Framework Directive, followed by scrutiny from both Parliament
and Council) will discuss each of the Regulation proposals and if approved, these will enter
into force.
1.2 Objectives
This background paper has been prepared as input to the second expert workshop on
biodegradable waste subject to biological treatment, to be held at IPTS, Seville, on 24-25
October 2011. As such, this study presents a picture of the possibilities for recovering
biodegradable waste, including the areas of information that need to be documented for
defining end-of-waste criteria. Selected items of this study will be discussed with experts
during the second workshop.
The ultimate objective of this study is to provide the full background information for use in
the technical proposal on end-of-waste for biodegradable waste. A final draft version of this
document will be distributed for consultation following the second workshop, prior to
establishing the final version.
1.3 Scope definition
Terminology
According to the Commission Staff working document
3
accompanying the Communication
from the Commission on future steps in bio-waste management in the European Union
4
, there
are different categories of waste suited for some form of biological treatment:
"Bio-waste" is defined in the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) as "biodegradable garden
and park waste, food and kitchen waste from households, restaurants, caterers and retail
premises, and comparable waste from food processing plants". It does not include forestry or
agricultural residues, manure, sewage sludge, or other biodegradable waste (natural textiles,
paper or processed wood).
(
3
) http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/compost/pdf/sec_biowaste.pdf
(
4
) http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:0235:FIN:EN:PDF
6
"Biodegradable waste" is a broader concept defined in the Landfill Directive as any waste
that is capable of undergoing anaerobic or aerobic decomposition, such as food and garden
waste, and paper and paperboard.
The total yearly production of bio-waste in the EU amounts to 118 to 138 Mt of which around
88 Mt originate from municipal waste and between 30 to 50 Mt from industrial sources such
as food processing
5
. In the EU, bio-waste usually constitutes between 30% and 40% - but can
range from 18% up to 60% - of municipal solid waste (MSW). The bio-waste part of MSW
comprises two major streams: green waste from parks, gardens etc. and kitchen waste. The
former usually includes 50-60% water and more wood (lignocellulose), the latter contains no
wood and up to 80% water.
In its Communication on future steps in bio-waste management in the EU, the Commission
states that compost and digestate from bio-waste are under-used materials. Furthermore, it is
mentioned that the End of Waste procedure under the Waste Framework Directive could be
the most efficient way of setting standards for compost and digestate that enable their free
circulation on the internal market and to allow using them without further monitoring and
control of the soils on which they are used. In this respect, the current work's scope is limited
to compost and digestate. Compost and digestate are defined in this study as follows:
• Compost: compost is the solid particulate material that is the result of composting and
which has been sanitised and stabilised. Composting is a process of controlled
decomposition of biodegradable materials under managed conditions, which are
predominantly aerobic and which allow the development of temperatures suitable for
thermophilic bacteria as a result of biologically produced heat.
• Digestate: digestate is the semisolid or liquid product of anaerobic digestion of
biodegradable materials. It can be presented as whole digestate or separated in a liquor
phase and a fibrous semisolid phase. Anaerobic digestion is a process of controlled
decomposition of biodegradable materials under managed conditions, predominantly
anaerobic and at temperatures suitable for mesophilic or thermophilic bacteria.
Furthermore, the study is restricted to materials derived from a waste treatment operation
consisting of composting or anaerobic digestion of biodegradable materials.
Moreover, the current study envisages recycling of the material derived from composting or
digestion of biodegradable waste, rather than energy recovery. It is noted that the JRC IPTS is
currently also coordinating a study on the feasibility of End of Waste criteria for a variety of
candidate waste derived fuels, including biodegradable wastes.
Finally, biodegradable materials that have not been subject to composting or anaerobic
digestion are explicitly excluded from this study, such as raw sewage sludge or residues of
crops that are ploughed in on farmland or textiles that are being reused.
Annex E lists a number of streams that were suggested as potential candidates for End of
Waste status during the stakeholder survey, but are not eligible due to clear deficiencies with
(
5
) Data based on data on municipal waste from EUROSTAT, source : Arcadis/Eunomia report 2009
7
regard to one or more conditions for End of Waste status set out in the Waste Framework
Directive.
1.4 Structure of this document
As a general remark, it should be pointed out that this document is partially based on
information provided in the case-study on compost presented in Chapter 2 of the final report
on End-of-Waste Criteria(
6
). It has been complemented with data from new research and input
provided by stakeholders during and following the first workshop held in Seville on 2 March
2011, especially for the items dealing with digestate.
This document consists of tree differentiated main chapters, which follow the lower part of
the conceptual illustration in Figure 1. The first part of the study (Chapter 2) corresponds to
the second row of Figure 1 and presents an overview of compost and digestate, its
composition, the types and sources of compost and digestate, its processing, grading and
recycling. The chapter contains information on the fulfilment of the four conditions set out in
Art. 6 of the Directive, namely the existence of a market demand and a specific use for
compost and digestate, the identification of health and environmental impacts that may result
from a change of status, the conditions for conformity with standards and quality
requirements, and the legislative framework of compost and digestate inside and outside
waste legislation.
The second part of the study (Chapter 3), describes the results of a sampling and analysis
campaign organised by the JRC on inorganic and organic pollutants of a series of compost
and digestate samples that were initial candidates for receiving end-of-waste status. This
campaign has been established following discussions held during the first workshop (March
2011) that revealed the need to obtain recent scientific data allowing comparative analysis, in
order to judge the suitability of different materials. It was understood that these necessary
scientific data could only be generated through a pan-European collaborative screening
exercise, consisting of measuring a large series of biodegradable waste samples in the best
possible standardized way. The campaign was organized in May-September 2011.
The third part of the study (Chapter 4), referring to the bottom row in Figure 1, gravitates on a
proposal of a set of EoW criteria, and includes the main conclusions of the discussions and
consultations held with the expert group during and following the first workshop held in
Seville (2 March 2011).
(
6
) Eur 23990 EN-2009
8
(a)
commonly used
(b)
a market or
demand exists
(c)
meets techn.
requirements,
legislation and
standards
(d)
no overall
adverse
environmental
or human health
impacts
The framework
conditions
Set of specific
criteria for each
stream
The waste ceases to be waste when a useful
and safe product is placed on the market
EoW principle
product quality
input
materials
processes
and
techniques
quality control
procedures
provision of
information
Figure 1. Conceptual illustration of the principle, framework conditions and elements of EoW
criteria.
Chapter 5 describes the identified potential impacts of the implementation of end-of-waste
criteria.
9
2 Background information on compost and digestate
2.1 Types of biodegradable waste
Biodegradable fractions of municipal solid waste (MSW)
MSW comprises wastes from private households and similar wastes from other establishments
that municipalities collect together with household waste. While the exact composition of
MSW varies considerably from municipality to municipality and across Member States, it
always contains an important portion of biological material. Depending on the country, kitchen
waste and ‘green’ waste from gardens and parks make up 30–50 % of the total mass of MSW.
Together they are sometimes called putrescible wastes or ‘biowastes’. The term ‘biowaste’,
however, is not always used in the same way and sometimes refers to kitchen waste only and
excludes green waste (
7
). Kitchen waste consists largely of food waste. On average, the
amounts of kitchen and green wastes are about the same but there are important local
variations, for instance, between rural and urban areas. Also the paper fraction in MSW
consists, to a large degree, of processed biological material, and so does a part of the textile
waste (from non-synthetic fibres).
Other biodegradable wastes
Other biodegradable wastes that may be composted on their own or together with the
biodegradable fraction of MSW include mainly the following items:
• commercial food waste, not collected as part of the MSW, including:
o waste from markets
o catering waste;
• forestry residues, including:
o bark
o wood residues;
• waste from agriculture, including:
o animal husbandry excrements (solid and liquid manure)
o straw residues
o sugar beet and potato haulm
o residues of growing of beans, peas, flax and vegetables
o spent mushroom compost
• wastes from the food and beverage industry, including:
o breweries and malt houses
o wineries
o fruit and vegetable production industry
o potato industry including starch
(
7
) In the Waste Framework Directive, bio-waste is defined as biodegradable garden and park waste, food and
kitchen waste from households, restaurants, caterers and retail premises and comparable waste from food
processing plants
10
o sugar beet residues and soils
o slaughterhouse residues
o meat production
o whey;
• sewage sludge (derived from biological treatment of wastewater)
Practically all biological wastes are biodegradable in the presence of oxygen (aerobic
conditions) and most biological materials are biodegradable also without oxygen (anaerobic
conditions). A relevant exception is lignin (in woody materials) which does not degrade
anaerobically. The speed of the degradation depends on the environment in which it takes
place. Moisture, temperature, pH and the physical structure of the materials are some of the key
parameters. Burning or incineration is the other main option for decomposing biological
material.
2.2 Treatment options
Biodegradable wastes can undergo a series of treatment operations. The major processes are
listed below. Frequently, combinations of the listed treatment options are implemented as well.
The current section does not consider treatment options for which biowaste should legally be
considered as a by-product, such as the processing into animal feed.
Landfill
In the past, landfilling mixed MSW without pretreatment or separating out the biological
fraction was common practice in most Member States. This option is today considered bad
practice because it is associated with environmental and safety risks related to a.o. landfill gas
with a high greenhouse gas potential (methane), leachate and space usage.
Through the Landfill Directive (
8
), the European Union has laid down strict requirements for
landfills to prevent and reduce the negative effects on the environment as far as possible.
Amongst other things, the Landfill Directive requires that waste must be treated before being
landfilled and that the biodegradable waste going to landfills must be reduced gradually to
35 % of the levels of the total amount of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995.
Incineration and other thermal treatments
The combustion of waste in incinerators allows diminution of the waste for material recovery
(e.g. metals) or disposal in landfills to an inert inorganic ash residue. The organic carbon and
hydrogen are oxidised to CO
2
and H
2
O which are discharged to the atmosphere in the flue gas.
Large-scale mass burn incineration is the most common form of incineration today. It means
that waste is combusted with little or no sorting or other pretreatment. However, due to the low
calorific value and high water content of many biodegradable wastes (with the exception of
paper and wood), exclusion of biodegradable materials by source separation is generally
preferred for incineration. In most present-day incinerators, the energy is recovered to produce
(
8
) Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1).
11
electricity and/or heat. The calorific values of individual types of waste vary considerably, from
about 4 GJ/tonne for food waste to over 35 GJ/tonne for some plastics (Smith et al., 2001).
Waste is generally blended to reach an average of 9-12 GJ/tonne so that combustion occurs
without pilot fuels, as their use is discouraged by the R1 formula.
An alternative option to mass burn incineration is to preprocess the waste to produce refuse
derived fuels (RDF). Processing the waste allows the removal of several streams of recyclable
materials, including biodegradable wastes, which receive separate treatment. The combustible
residue has a higher calorific value than mixed waste, and may then be burned directly or co-
incinerated, for example in cement kilns.
Newly emerging technologies involve pyrolysis and gasification to first break down the organic
matter in the waste into a mixture of gaseous and/or liquid products that are then used as
secondary fuels. However, these technologies are still in a development stage.
The Waste Incineration Directive from 2000(
9
), which will be repealed with effect from 7
January 2014 and has been merged into the Industrial Emissions Directive(
10
), aims to prevent
or to reduce negative effects on the environment caused by the incineration and co-incineration
of waste. In particular, the conditions laid down in the directive should reduce pollution caused
by emissions into the air, soil, surface water and groundwater, and thus lessen the risks which
these pose to human health. This is to be achieved through the application of operational
conditions, technical requirements, and emission limit values for waste incineration and co-
incineration plants within the Community.
Mechanical biological treatment (MBT)
In mechanical biological treatment, the mixed MSW undergoes a mechanical sorting of the
waste into a biodegradable fraction and a reject fraction, which may be further split, especially
to sort out and recycle metals. The remainder of the reject fraction is either landfilled or
incinerated.
The biodegradable fraction is then composted or aerobically digested, according to the methods
described below. By composting and digestion, the volume of the material and its further
degradability are reduced (stabilisation). It is important to note that, depending on the final
purpose of the organic fraction, MBT installations are designed differently. Mechanical
biological treatment either aims
• at a landfillable fraction with a minimum of unstable organic material
or
• at a stabilized organic fraction that can be recycled in e.g. agriculture with an acceptable
maximum level of impurities (only allowed in certain Member States)
The latter technology is also called Mixed Waste Composting.
When landfilled, the stabilised residual waste has a much reduced capacity for producing
landfill gas and leachate, and it can provide a very compact material. It can also be used to
(
9
) Directive 2000/76/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 2000 on the incineration
of waste (OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 91).
(
10
) Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial
emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17)
12
cover or restore land on landfills. When used in agriculture or horticulture, quality demands are
higher and the material needs to respect several limit values on pollutants.
Composting
Composting is the aerobic degradation of waste to produce compost. It has a long history in
many parts of Europe. Originally it was used in the form of simple processes on a small scale
for farm and back yard composting. In the last two decades, composting has received renewed
and widened interest as a means of addressing current waste management challenges, in
particular for reducing the amount of wastes going to landfills and the associated CH
4
emissions from the degradation of organic materials in landfills. The production of compost is
also seen as an opportunity for providing a material that can be used as a component in growing
media or as an organic fertiliser or soil improver. These and other uses of compost are
discussed in more detail in Section 2.4 below.
Many installations producing composts for use as growing media or soil improvers rely on
source-separated biological fractions of MSW (kitchen waste and/or garden and park waste).
The rationale for this is to keep the levels of compost contamination with undesirable materials,
such as glass or plastic, and other substances, such as heavy metals and organic pollutants, as
low as possible. Recently, technologies have been under development with the aim of
achieving high compost purities from the organic fraction of mixed MSW by means of
enhanced material separation before and throughout the composting process. The other main
types of compost are compost produced from bark, manure and from sewage sludge (together
with bulking material).
The size of composting plants ranges from treatment capacities of less than 1 000 tonnes to
more than 100 000 tonnes/year. The process technologies of composting are very diverse.
Distinctive features of different composting technologies are:
• open or closed composting
• with or without forced aeration
• different process techniques like windrow, container, box channel or tunnel composting.
Open-air windrow composting is the simplest technique. Generally, these plants work without
forced aeration and waste gas collecting. Techniques with forced air systems are mostly
associated with the collecting and treatment of waste gas. Combined scrubber and biofilter
systems are a typical form of waste gas treatment. Different types of mechanical separation
techniques are usually applied before, during or after the composting processes to sort out
undesirable components from the material.
Depending on the composting technique applied and the ‘maturity’ of the compost product, the
duration of the composting process ranges from a little more than a week to several months.
An important part of the composting takes place by the action of thermophilic micro-organisms
at a temperature of up to 70 °C and sometimes even more. If temperatures are maintained for a
sufficiently long time, pathogenic micro-organisms are killed off along with the weed seed, and
the material can be considered hygienically safe.
Anaerobic digestion
13
Alternative to, or in combination with, aerobic composting, biodegradable waste can also be
decomposed in a controlled process in the absence of oxygen. The process runs in airtight
vessels, usually for several weeks, and produces methane-rich biogas (45-80% methane
content). The biogas is burnt to generate electricity and/or heat. A part of the energy may be
used to heat the process and keep it at the required temperature (30–60 °C). Alternatively, the
biogas may be upgraded to methane and injected into the gas grid or used as a vehicle fuel.
The biogas produced will be stored before being either refined further into methane for vehicle
fuel or for injection into the gas grid or burned in a combined heat and power engine to produce
electricity and heat, or burned in a gas boiler to produce heat for local use
The process also produces a sludge-like or liquid residue, termed ‘digestate’, which may be
used on farmland as liquid organic (NPK) fertiliser. In some plants the digestate is dewatered,
resulting in a separated liquor and a separated fibre fraction. Alternatively, the digestate may be
‘cured’ by composting to further stabilise the material which can then be used as an organic
fertiliser or soil improver if it is of a sufficient quality. The liquid from the process is recycled
back into the process to a large extent, and the excess, if any, can be used as a liquid fertiliser if
the quality allows this. Otherwise, it is disposed of into the sewerage system.
Anaerobic digestion is applied to the biodegradable fractions of MSW, agricultural wastes
(excrements, litter, straw, beet and potato leaves), food industry wastes (residues from brewing,
grape pressing, sugar production, slaughterhouse by-products and meat processing residues,
waste water from milk processing) and sewage sludge.
Anaerobic digestion applied to MSW can use source-separated biodegradable waste as the
input or mechanically separated organic fractions of MSW. The process can also imply the
treatment of several streams at once, e.g. as co-digestion with agricultural residues.
Fermentation
Apart from secondary fuel production from gasification products and biogas production
through anaerobic digestion, certain biodegradable wastes may be used for biofuel production
through fermentation. Whereas first generation biofuels were based on energy crops such as
maize, secondary generation biofuels can be based on waste material from food crops, often
containing high amounts of lignocellulose The production of biofuels from these waste
materials hence generally involves a step to make the material fermentable, e.g. by steam
cracking of the lignocellulose parts, followed by a fermentation step yielding alcoholic fuels.
2.3 Developments in the treatment of biodegradable waste
The Landfill Directive (
11
) requires that the biodegradable waste going to landfills is reduced to
• 75 % by 16 July 2006
• 50 % by 16 July 2009
• 35 % by 16 July 2016
compared to the total amount of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995 or the latest
year before 1995 for which standardised Eurostat data are available.
(
11
) Article 5(2) of Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1).
14
Member States that landfilled more than 80 % of their municipal waste in 1995 were allowed to
postpone each of the targets by a maximum of four years.
The Landfill Directive requires Member States to set up a national strategy for the
implementation of the reduction of biodegradable waste going to landfills. On 30 March 2005,
the European Commission reported on the national strategies it had received from Denmark,
Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Sweden
as well as on the regional plans for England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, the
Flemish Region and the Walloon Region. The report shows that there are large differences in
the roles given to composting in the different national and regional strategies. The following
three examples illustrate the diversity of the national strategies.
Austria has introduced a legal obligation to collect biodegradable waste separately, which may
then be used to produce compost. As a consequence, the amount of separately collected
biodegradable waste increased from a few thousand tonnes in 1989 to approximately 530 000
tonnes in 2003 (in 1995, the amount of biodegradable municipal waste produced in Austria was
2 675 300 tonnes.) This was complemented by the entry into force of an Ordinance on
Composting in 2001, which regulates the quality requirements for composts from waste, the
type and origin of the input materials and the conditions for their placing on the markets.
Austria has already achieved the last reduction target as stated in the Landfill Directive.
Denmark has also already achieved the last target, but with a completely different strategy. An
Order regarding waste issued in 2000 requires all Danish municipalities to send waste that is
suitable for incineration to incineration. In recent years, only very small amounts of
biodegradable municipal waste have therefore been landfilled, corresponding to far less than
10 % of the total amount of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995.
Italy is an example of a country that has opted for a mixed strategy. The country already
fulfilled the target for 2006. In 2002, 830 0000 tonnes of biodegradable waste were diverted
from landfills through:
• separate collection (3 800 000 tonnes);
• mechanical biological treatment (5 600 000 tonnes of unsorted waste with an estimated
biodegradable fraction of 3 100 000 tonnes);
• incineration (2 700 000 tonnes of waste, of which about 1 500 000 tonnes was
biodegradable).
Figure 1 displays the evolution of municipal waste treatment options in the EU-27 until 2008,
indicating that composting grew steadily during the last decade, but recently started to
stagnate
12
.
(
12
) http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Waste_statistics
15
Figure 1: Waste amounts produced according to treatment options (in kg/capita) in
the EU-27
A brief characterisation of biodegradable waste management in 25 EU Member States is
presented in Annex 1.
From the stakeholder consultation following the first workshop in March 2011, additional
information was received on trends and facts with regard to the treatment of biodegradable
waste in various Member States of the EU.
• In Finland, landfilling is the most common treatment for municipal solid waste.
Separate collection of biowaste started in the 90`s and it is generally only mandatory for
bigger housing units. Single family houses normally are not included in the separate
collection but they are encouraged to home composting. The composting of the separate
collected biowaste was first done in open windrows. Several composting plants have
been built at the end of the 90`s and the beginning of the second millennium. Often
biowaste was treated together with sewage sludge in the composting plant. Many of the
plants suffered from technical problems, because the composting systems coming from
Central Europe were not adapted sufficiently to the Finnish biowaste, which is mainly
kitchen waste. During the last years the interest for anaerobic digestion raised parallel
with a discussion on renewable energy and an electricity tariff support. There is no
complete information about the use of composts and digestate in Finland. Most of the
composting and anaerobic digestion plants in Finland treat sewage sludge and green
waste to some extent as well. According to the reports of regional authorities circa 190
ktonne were composted and 42 ktonne treated in AD-plants 2008. The total capacity of
installed anaerobic digestion plants for biodegradable waste in Finland is about 50
ktonne.
• While the compost sector is relatively well developed in Ireland, the development of an
anaerobic digestion industry has been slower to gain traction, which is due to the nature
16
of proposed facilities (i.e. on farm), uncertainties in respect of subsidies available (e.g.
for renewables) and requirements of Animal By-Products legislation where material
from off site, other farm slurries or separately collected biowaste from the local
authorities, is proposed to be treated.
• In Spain, in 2008, 34 plants produced 60.5 ktonne of compost from source separated
biowaste, whereas 66 plants produced 493.5 ktonne of compost from mixed waste and
15 plants produced 56.1 ktonne of compost from mixed waste after digestion.
• In Sweden, in the decade preceding the year 2009, landfilling nearly faded out
completely, whereas biological treatment of biodegradable waste increased steadily. In
2009, 536 ktonne of biodegradable waste were treated by anaerobic digestion and 631
ktonne by composting.
• In Italy, in 2008, about 7 Mtonne of biodegradable waste have been separately collected
and recycled. About 7.5 Mtonne of municipal solid waste have been treated in
mechanical biological treatment plants, yet they are disposed in landfill after the
treatment. In fact no other uses are allowed for the stabilized wastes in Italy. About 4.1
Mtonne of municipal solid waste have been incinerated for energy production. A share
of this waste is biodegradable. Composting plants (290 plants in total) in Italy, in 2008,
have received about 3.4 million tonnes of source segregated biodegradable waste. As
for anaerobic digestion in Italy, in 2008, 24.5 ktonne of digestate were produced from
selected and mixed biodegradable waste sources, 52.6 ktonne of digestate were
produced from selected biodegradable sources only and 6 ktonne of digestate were
produced from waste from the agro-industrial sector.
• In Belgium, in the Flemish region, in 2009, 881 ktonne of biowaste were treated in
anaerobic digestion plants, 776 ktonne were composted and 341 ktonne were
biothermally dried.
• In Slovenia, in 2009, 32.4 ktonn of organic waste were collected, 19.2 ktonne from
catering and 13.1 ktonne from households. In 2007, 2.9 ktonne of organic kitchen waste
were composted and 2.8 ktonne were anaerobically digested.
• In the UK, according to preliminary results from the draft Annual Survey of the UK
Organics Recycling Industry 2009, the organics recycling industry was composed of
281 permitted composting plants, 17 anaerobic digestion plants, 9 MBT plants and two
TAD (thermal aerobic digestion) plants. Collectively, it was estimated that they
recycled 5.2 Mtonne of waste. Approximately 2733 registered exempt composting sites
were also identified, composting an estimated 900 ktonne of waste. Permitted aerobic
composting was therefore the predominant treatment method, accounting for 90% of all
sites and 90% of the waste. This composition is broadly in line with findings in
previous surveys in which composting dominated; however, it is anticipated that the 17
AD plants represents the emergence of this sector, largely in response to government
drivers and the promotion of anaerobic digestion nationally. Municipal waste remained
the principal waste stream (just over 80%), with wastes from parks and gardens
accounting for 53% overall. This probably reflects the targets placed on local
authorities to recycle and divert biodegradable municipal waste from landfill, which has
17
resulted in a comprehensive network of recycling schemes in place across all four
nations of the UK.
• According to the European Compost Network (ECN), in 2009, there were about 2500
sites in Europe for composting of source segregated materials, 40% of which only treat
garden waste, with an annual capacity of 27 million tonnes and an estimated annual
capacity increase of 0.5 to 1 million tonnes. Additionally, there were 800 small
agricultural co-composting plants, mainly in Germany and Austria. According to the
ECN, such plants offer large potential for the rural areas of the eastern Member States.
Furthermore, 195 large anaerobic digestion sites were operational in 2010, with 5.9
Mtonne capacity for organic waste, with a current capacity doubling every 5 years.
Additionally, 7500 agricultural digestion and co-digestion sites for agricultural residues,
energy crops and organic waste were present in Europe in 2010. The totally produced
volume of digestate is estimated at 56 million m
3
for 2010, whereas the electric capacity
for electricity production from biogas is 2.5 GW. Finally, there were about 280 plants in
Europe, with an annual capacity of 18 million tonnes, for the mechanical biological
treatment of mixed waste (by composting or digestion), mainly aimed at producing a
stabilised fraction for landfilling. These plants are situated largely in Italy, Germany,
Austria, France and Spain.
2.4 Compost and digestate applications
For compost, there are two main uses as a product: as a soil improver/organic fertiliser and as a
component of growing media. Digestate is mainly used as an organic fertiliser with lesser soil
improvement potential, except for the separated fibre fraction.
2.4.1 Compost as a soil improver/organic fertiliser
Compost is considered a multifunctional soil improver. It is therefore used in agriculture and
horticulture as well as to produce topsoil for landscaping or land restoration. The application of
compost usually improves the physical, biological and chemical properties of soil. Repeated
application of compost leads to an increase in soil organic matter, it often helps to reduce
erosion, it increases the water retention capacity and pH buffer capacity, and it improves the
physical structure of soil (aggregate stability, density, pore size). Composts may also improve
the biological activity of the soil.
Compost is often considered an organic fertiliser, although the fertiliser function of compost
(supply of nutrients) is, in many cases, less pronounced than the general soil improvement
function. According to Kluge (2008) the supply of plant-available nitrogen by compost is rather
low, especially in the short term, and only repeated applications over long periods may have a
relevant effect. However, the phosphate and potassium demand of agricultural soils can, in
many cases, largely be covered by adequate compost application. Compost also supplies
calcium, magnesium, sulphur and micronutrients and have a neutralizing value for the soil.
The effects of compost also depend on the local soil conditions and agricultural practices, and
many aspects are still not well understood.
The quality parameters that characterise the usefulness of compost in agricultural applications
include:
18
• organic matter content
• nutrient content (N, P, K, Mg, CaO)
• dry matter
• particle size
• bulk density
• pH.
2.4.2 Compost as component of growing media
The second main use of compost is as a component of growing media.
Growing media are materials, other than soil, in which plants are grown. About 60 % of
growing media are used in hobby applications (potting soil), and the rest in professional
applications (greenhouses, container cultures). The total volume of growing media consumed in
the EU is estimated to be about 20–30 million m
3
annually. Worldwide, peat-based growing
media cover some 85–90 % of the market. The market share of compost as a growing medium
constituent is below 5 %. Growing media are usually blends with materials mixed according to
the required end product characteristics (SV&A, 2005).
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) together with the Growing Media
Association have issued guidelines for the specification of composted green materials used as a
growing medium component based on the BSI PAS 100 specifications for composted materials
(WRAP, 2004). The guidelines introduce additional requirements to those of BSI PAS 100, e.g.
concerning heavy metal limits.
According to these guidelines, any growing media shall:
• have a structure which physically supports plants and provides air to their roots and
reserves of water and nutrients;
• be easy to use with no unpleasant smell;
• be stable and not degrade significantly in storage;
• contain no materials, contaminants, weeds or pathogens that adversely affect the user,
equipment or plant growth;
• be fit for the purpose and grow plants to the standard expected by the consumer in
accordance with the vendor’s description and claims.
Specifically for compost, the guidelines identify the fundamental requirements of a composted
green material supplied as a component of a growing medium. It shall:
• be produced only from green waste inputs;
• be sanitised, mature and stable;
• be free of all ‘sharps’ (macroscopic inorganic contaminants, such as glass fragments, nails
and needles);
• contain no materials, contaminants, weeds, pathogens or potentially toxic elements that
adversely affect the user, equipment or plant growth (beyond certain specified limits);
• be dark in colour and have an earthy smell;
19
• be free-flowing and friable and be neither wet and sticky nor dry and dusty;
• be low in density and electrical conductivity.
According to the WRAP guidelines, such composts ‘would normally be suitable for use as a
growing medium constituent at a maximum rate of 33 % by volume in combination with peat
and/or other suitable low nutrient substrate(s) such as bark, processed wood, forestry co-
products or coir.’ Higher rates usually affect plant growth negatively because of the compost’s
naturally high conductivity.
According to ORBIT/ECN (2008), the proportion of compost in growing media depends very
much on the composting process and final compost quality. The main criteria are maturation
and degree of humification, concentration of mineral nitrogen components, salt content and
structural stability (porosity, bulk density, aggregation) and purpose for use. In growing media
for hobby gardening 40–50 % (by volume) compost can be used; in growing media for
professional use 20–30 % (by volume) compost can be used. In the German quality assurance
system for compost (RAL, 2007) specific criteria are laid down for compost in potting soils
(growing media). Two types of compost suitable as mixing compound for growing media with
different mixing volumes are described regarding stability level, nutrient and salt content.
It is important to note that compost produced with a high proportion of cooked kitchen waste is
usually only suitable in lower portions as growing media component because it tends to have a
higher salinity and nutrient content.
2.4.3 Digestate applications
Digestate is generally used for its fertilizing properties, given its highly available fractions of N
and P, yet it also holds certain soil improving properties.
Stakeholders provided multiple examples of digestate applications in the various Member
States.
• In Germany, the majority of the digestate is used without further treatment and only
about 10% of the plants treating waste produce compost from the output of the digestion
process. The liquid phase is separated after digestion and the separated fibre is generally
post-composted. Only 6% of the quality assured digestate (BGK label) is produced as
solid digestate in Germany. Liquid digestate (94% of whole digestate) is used directly
as fertiliser in agriculture.
• In the Netherlands, digestate from separately collected organic waste from households
always undergoes aerobic post-treatment (composting) and the resulting material is sold
as fertilizer or component in growing media. It is also noted that digestate from mixed
waste, even after composting, does not meet the requirements for use as fertilizer and is
partially incinerated and partially land-filled, the latter route being politically
discouraged.
• In Spain, in general digestate or separated fibre from digestate is composted, the
separate liquor is treated as wastewater or it is recycled into the process. The resulting
compost is mainly sold to agriculture. Besides, digestate from the co-digestion of
manure with other biodegradable waste is used directly in agriculture.
20
• In Sweden, in 2009, 97% of the digestate produced from anaerobic treatment plants was
used in agriculture, mostly as whole digestate. Three of sixteen plants do separate the
digestate. One of them uses the separated fibre and the liquor phase in agriculture, the
other two plants compost the separated fibre.
• In Italy, anaerobic digestion plants that treat agricultural biomass apply the digestate
directly in agriculture. For anaerobic digestion plants that treat organic wastes, the
resulting digestate is considered a waste and the digestate can be aerobically post-
treated to produce compost according to the national fertilizer regulations or disposed.
• In Belgium, only professional users are allowed to apply liquid digestates, as it is
assumed that these materials are not suitable for application by private users, because of
a lack of stability, which implies a need for certain measures for storage and no
possibility of packaging in small bags. Moreover, special equipment is necessary to be
able to apply the digestate (like for liquid manure). The same remarks apply to the
separated liquor, containing less nutrients and less organic matter. The other fraction,
the dewatered digestate, is more concentrated in organic matter and nutrients, but is still
unstable and thus not suitable for private use. Often, the dewatered digestate is
(bio)thermally dried so as to obtain a dried digestate, containing a higher concentration
of nutrients and organic matter on a fresh matter basis. These end products have both
fertilizing and soil improving properties. In Belgium, the product is considered to be
stable at a dry matter content of at least 80 % and can then be named ‘dried’ digestate. It
is possible to press the dried digestate into granules in order to obtain a product easy to
apply in the desired dose. In function of the market demand, some producers are aiming
at a dry matter content of less than 80 %. In that case, the product is named ‘partially
dried’ digestate (40-80 % dry matter). Until now, the use of these products has been
restricted to professional users in Belgium. No authorizations for private use have been
delivered yet. In the future, the Belgian authorities could deliver such authorizations,
only for dried (stable) digestates, based on a case by case evaluation and under strict
conditions, such as requirements for input materials, process monitoring, the quality of
the end product as well as sustainable application of the end product.
• In Flanders, in total 150 415 tonnes of products were produced from digestion in
2009 (whole digestate, separated liquor, separated fibre, effluent after biological
treatment of liquid fraction, concentrate after filtration of liquid fraction digestate,
thermally dried digestate, biothermally dried biowaste mixed with manure,
biothermally dried organic soil improver). These products are mainly exported
(56%). The second most important market is agriculture and horticulture (19%). The
products are mainly applied on arable land. The liquid fractions are mainly used in
agriculture, the solid fraction (separated fibre) is often transported towards manure
processing plants (for biothermal drying) and export outside the Flemish Region.
• In Wallonia, only one plant out of the 4 AD operating plants separates the digestate
into a fibre and a liquor fraction.
• In Slovenia, there are currently 11 anaerobic digestion plants, of which 7 only treat
agricultural biomass. Digestate is spread on agricultural land, whereby restrictions apply
on the amount of nitrogen according to the Decree concerning the protection of waters
21
against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (Official Gazette of the
Republic of Slovenia, no. 113/09). The other 4 anaerobic digestion plants treat mainly
catering waste, slurry and silage (corn) and the digestate (mainly liquid) is also spread
in agriculture when it meets the requirements of the Decree on the treatment of
biodegradable waste (waste legislation).
• According to the UK Association for Organics Recycling, whole digestate may be
suitable for use as biofertiliser, soil conditioner and, if sufficiently low in dry solids
content, as foliar feed for plants. Separated liquor may be suitable for use as
biofertiliser, soil conditioner and, if sufficiently low in dry solids content, as foliar feed
for plants. Separated fibre may be suitable for use as biofertiliser, soil conditioner and
mulch.
• According to the European Compost Network, the following trends are noted with
regard to digestate use:
• Wet fermentation of biowaste biogas plants:
o In Central/Western Europe: the output is separated into a liquid and solid
fraction whereby the solid fraction is post-composted and the excess liquid
fraction that is not recycled to the process is mostly applied to agricultural
land
o In Scandinavia: the complete digestion residue is applied on agricultural land
• Wet fermentation of energy crops, manure and industrial / commercial waste (food
industries, restaurants, former foodstuff etc.): the complete digestion residue is
applied on agricultural land
• Dry fermentation: the solid digestion residue is generally post-composted together
with bio-/green waste
• Approximately less than 3% of the digestates are further treated to specific products
e.g. for pellets or as constituents for growing media or manufactured soils.
• According to the European Biogas Association, new products like dried or pelletized
digestates are increasingly released into the European market. With full upgrading by
ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis, highly concentrated fertiliser and a purified aqueous
stream of drinking water quality can be produced. These developments are rather new.
Today, still more than 95% of the produced digestate in Europe is used directly in the
agricultural sector as a liquid fertilizer.
In conclusion, it can be stated that digestate is often used in agriculture, either as a whole
digestate fraction or following separation in a solid and liquid fraction. The solid fraction may
undergo additional treatments such as post-composting or drying. The liquid fraction, when not
used on agricultural land, may undergo a treatment similar to wastewater to produce a clean
water fraction.
2.5 Economic and market aspects
This section characterises the compost and digestate market in the EU in terms of current
compost and digestate supply and use, imports and exports, production costs, prices, and the
agronomic value of compost and digestate. It also presents a market outlook for both materials.
22
2.5.1 Compost supply
ORBIT/ECN (2008) estimated that the yearly production of compost in the EU in 2005 was
more than 13 million tonnes (compost from the biodegradable fraction of MSW and sewage
sludge). When extrapolating from the partially new data received following the stakeholder
survey in December 2010, it is expected that compost production grew slightly from 2005 to
2008.
Only a few countries make up most of the compost production from MSW in the EU. In
absolute amounts, Germany is the biggest compost producer with about 4.4 million tonnes,
followed by France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy. On a per capita basis,
compost production is highest in the Netherlands, followed by Austria, France and Germany.
Of these countries, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Austria rely mainly on
source-separated biodegradable fractions of MSW for compost production. In France and
Spain, compost is also produced in considerable quantities from mixed MSW with a growing
market share of MBT compost in France. France, Spain and Italy also produce sizeable
amounts of sewage sludge compost. In the 12 new Member States, compost production plays a
very small role. Table 1 presents compost production data country by country.
Apart from MSW and sewage sludge, compost can also be produced from wastes from
agriculture, forestry, and the food and drink industries. The quantities of composts produced
from these sources are unknown but are assumed to be much smaller than from MSW and
sewage sludge.
23
Table 1: Compost produced in the EU (tonnes/year). Source: ORBIT/ECN (2008) and stakeholder survey December 2010
Year Total
Biowaste
(except
green
waste)
compost %
Green waste
compost %
Sewage
sludge
compost %
Mixed waste
compost %
Other
composts %
AT 2005 634,400 218,400 34 380,000 60 32,000 5 4,000 1 0
BE/Flanders 2009 344856 115,150 33 229,706 67 0 0 0 0 0
BE/Wallonia 2008 152,954 11,892 8 120,129 79 20,933 14 0 0 0
BG 0 0 0 0 0
CY 0 0 0 0 0
CZ 2006 77,600 4,000 5 21,600 28 52,000 67 0 0 0
DE 2008 4,384,400 2,048,600 47 1,599,000 36 627,600 14 0 0 109,200 2
DK 2008 374,530 17,600 5 315,600 84 41,330 11 0 0 0
EE 0 0 0 0 0
ES 2008 610,148 53,969 9 6,549 1 0 549,630 90 0
FI 2005 180,000 150,000 83 0 30,000 17 0 0
FR 2005 2,490,000 170,000 7 920,000 37 800,000 32 600,000 24 0
EL 2005 8,840 0 0 840 10 0 0 8,000 90 0
HU 2005 50,800 20,000 39 30,800 61 0 0 0 0 0
IE 2006 100,500 25,000 25 34,000 34 17,000 17 24,500 24 0
IT 2008 1,004,952 802,340 80 176,804 18 0 0 25,808 3
LT 0 0 0 0 0
LU 2005 20,677 20,677 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
LV 0 0 0 0 0
MT 0 0 0 0 0
NL 2008 1,603,464 595,464 37 1,000,000 62 8,000 0 0 0 0
PL 0 0 0 0 0
PT 2005 29,501 2,086 7 1,730 6 2,500 8 23,185 79 0
RO 0 0 0 0 0
SE 2008 199,700 71,700 36 116,000 58 0 0 12,000 6 0
SI 0 0 0 0 0
SK 2005 32,938 1,836 6 27,102 82 4,000 12 0 0 0
UK 2005/06 2,036,000 316,000 16 1,660,000 82 15,000 1 45,000 2 0
EU-27 14,358,104 4,651,864 32 6,654,554 46 1,650,363 11 1,266,315 9 135,008 1
Bio and green waste compost 11,306,418 79
24
2.5.2 Compost use
The suitable uses of compost depend on source material type, compost class and quality.
Application areas like agriculture just require standard quality. Landscaping and, even more so,
the growing media sector need an upgraded and more specialised product. Here, further
requirements of the customers have to be met and it is up to the marketing strategy of the
compost plant to decide whether to enter into this market segment.
Compost producers often face difficulties in marketing because they lack understanding of the
potential use sectors such as the landscaping and horticultural sectors (e.g. knowledge of plant
growing and the related technical language). Declaration, advertisement and marketing are not
always of a standard comparable with competing products.
Table 2 provides an overview of compost use in the main compost producing countries in the
EU.
Table 2: Compost use distribution (%) in major compost producing countries.
Source: ORBIT/ECN (2008).
AT
2003
BE/
Fl
2009
DE
2005
ES (
1
)
2006
FI
2005
FR (
2
)
2005
HU
2005
IE
2006
IT
2003
NL
bio-
waste
2005
NL (
1
)
green
waste
2005
PL (
2
)
2005
SE
2005
UK
2005
Weight
ed
Mean
EU(
3
)
Agriculture 40.0 53.4 88.0 20.0 71.0 55.0 37.0 51.0 74.8 44.4 — — 30.0 50.9
Horticulture
& green
house
production
10.0
11
3.9 8.0 — 25.0 15.0 3.0 — — 15.5 — 5.0 13.0 10.6
Landscaping 15.0 38 15.9 4.0 20.0 — 10.0 6.0 6.0 3.6 12.3 — 20.0 14.0 10.4
Blends 15.0 13.6 — 10.0 — — 16.0 15.0 5.1 — 2.0 6.3
Soil mixing
companies
2.0 — — — — — — — — 9.4 — 10.0 — 1.6
Wholesalers — — — — — — — — — 5.2 — 15.0 — 0.9
Hobby
gardening
15.0 11.9 — — 4.0 5.0 — 27.0 1.1 2.3 — 10.0 25.0 12.9
Land
restoration
and landfill
cover
2.0
44
— — 50.0 — 15.0 38 2.0 — — 100.0 40.0 16.0 4.9
Export 1.0 6 — — — — — — — 5.5 5.0 — — — 1.0
Others — 2 1.3 — — — — — — — 0.8 — — — 0.5
(
1
) Green waste compost. ; (
2
) Mainly mixed waste compost; (
3
) Weighted by data from Table 1
An important factor determining compost use is the national environmental and fertilising
policy. The manure policy in Belgium, for instance, makes it very difficult to sell compost to
farmers. The excess of manure encountered in Flanders compared to the agricultural surface
available implies that the limits of organic nitrogen levels are rapidly reached through manure
spreading and that only 11 % of the compost goes to agriculture. This situation is not
encountered in Wallonia, such that up to 57% of the compost produced goes to agricultural
25
soils in that region. In the Netherlands, however, with the same animal husbandry and nutrient
situation, most of the kitchen/biowaste compost is used in agriculture (75 %).
In Europe, more than 50 % of the compost goes to mass markets which require standard
quantities. Twenty to thirty per cent of the market volumes are used in higher specialised
market areas which require an upgrade and mixing of the compost in order to meet the specific
requirements of the customers.
In recent years, the use distribution in countries with developed markets (such as Flanders in
Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands) was relatively stable. Changes in the fertiliser
legislation in the Netherlands have, however, led to a reduced share of agricultural use after
2005.
2.5.3 Compost imports and exports
According to ORBIT/ECN (2008), the main compost exporting countries in the EU are
probably Belgium and the Netherlands. On average, they exported 4.5 % of their annual
production in 2005 and 2006. The main reason for exports in these cases was a low national
demand because of strong competition of other cheap organic material (mainly manure).
However, the Netherlands informed that competition with manure is no longer an issue for
Dutch agriculture according to the feedback received following the stakeholder survey.
Generally, compost plants supply their product within 50 km of the plant. This corresponds to
the distance a large lorry of 25 tonnes capacity can make within an hour for the cost of
EUR 50–60. These transport costs and the other marketing expenses are still covered by prices
of around EUR 5/tonne (EUR 125/lorry load). All plants close to borders (less than 50 km
distance) contacted by ORBIT/ECN underlined the importance of this local market and
expressed their appreciation of the end-of-waste provisions which could potentially help them
to overcome the constraints of selling their compost over the border.
ORBIT/ECN reports not having detected a ‘real import demand’ for compost. The low value
per weight of compost does not cover the cost of the transport to the areas where the main
needs exist, such as the Mediterranean countries.
The main continuous import and export activities and potentials are related to the growing
media sector. Using compost in various products based on green waste are a common business
especially for the large international companies producing and dealing with peat, soil and bark.
However, growing media products containing compost as one of the components are generally
not considered subject to waste legislation.
2.5.4 Production costs and compost prices
The costs of composting depend on local conditions and the quality of the material to be
composted. Eunomia (2002) reviewed the information from various sources regarding the cost
of composting source-separated biological waste, and made a cost estimate of EUR 35–
60/tonne of waste for larger ‘best practice’ plants in closed systems, although higher costs had
also been reported in some cases. The cost of low-tech windrow composting may be less than
26
EUR 20/tonne of waste. There are also some cost differences between countries following the
general tendencies of producer prices. Gate fees charged for green waste tend to be smaller than
for kitchen waste or for mixed kitchen and green waste.
The price of bulk compost for use as an organic fertiliser or a soil improver is much lower than
the ‘production costs’, i.e. the costs of treating biological wastes in a composting plant. The
prices achieved for composts for agricultural use in central Europe are rarely higher than
EUR 5/tonne of compost and, in most cases, lower. Often, the compost is actually given away
to farmers free of charge. A typical scenario in Germany is that the compost producer offers the
transport, the compost and the spreading of the compost on the field as a service to the farmers
(usually through subcontractors) and charges about EUR 1–2/tonne for everything.
Compost sales to agriculture become very difficult when there is a fierce competition with
manure. This is the case in Flanders and the Netherlands, where, on account of the huge animal
husbandry, a surplus in manure arises and up to EUR 30/tonne of manure is paid to the users.
This and a restrictive application regulation make it difficult to sell compost for agricultural
uses in those countries (ORBIT/ECN, 2008).
A French compost market study for ADEME (2006) reports the following price ranges for
compost use in agriculture (grandes cultures):
• compost from green waste: EUR 0 (in most cases) to EUR 10–12/tonne (including the cost
for transport and spreading)
• compost from mixed MSW: EUR 0 (most frequently) to EUR 2–3/tonne (including
spreading).
The combined separation-composting plant for MSW at Launay Lantic (France) sells most of
the compost produced to artichoke or cauliflower growers at a price of EUR 2.34/tonne
(personal communication).
In Austria, decentralised composting plays an important role and often farmers run small and
simple windrow composting facilities in which they treat source-separated biological waste
from nearby municipalities. The farmers use the compost on their own farmland, and if their
farmland is of a suitable size, there is no need for these compost producers to sell or give away
the compost. For the highest quality compost, which is suitable for organic farming, prices of a
little more than EUR 10/m
3
have been found. An example of the gate fee charged by a ‘farmer-
composter’ in Austria is EUR 48/tonne biowaste from separate collection.
In 2001, the average sales price for compost made from pure garden and park waste in
Denmark were reported to be about EUR 8–9/tonne (Hogg et al., 2002).
According to ORBIT/ECN (2008), soil manufacturing companies and blenders are interested in
getting cheap raw material and are therefore not willing to pay high prices, so sales prices range
from EUR 2.40 to EUR 3.20/tonne.
Landscaping and horticulture require medium efforts in product development and marketing,
which reflect the price of EUR 6–15/tonne. Hobby gardening prices are on a similar level.
Relatively high prices from EUR 90 to EUR 300/tonne follow from situations where the
compost is sold in small bags, e.g. as blends, to hobby gardeners or to wholesalers. Bulk
27
deliveries to wholesalers, however, only lead to about EUR 7/tonne. However, in most cases
such prices are only obtained for a minor fraction of the total compost production of a plant
(typically 1% or less). As such, the sales of compost to private end-users serves more in raising
awareness on the need for good recycling of biodegradable materials.
An interesting approach to generate higher revenues from compost is applied in certain
compost plants in Germany. An external company provides the marketing tools, such as
billboards, information folders etc. The local plant operator prepares the mixtures according to
prescriptions and pays the marketing company based on the amount of compost products sold
in bulk or bagged. In order to encourage citizens to respect source separation guidelines for
biowaste collection and to create trust in the manufactured compost products that they
purchase, references are made to regional affiliations on the compost bags. In this way, the
consumers understand that the compost bought is the output of their proper collection and
sorting efforts.
Using this marketing approach, plants do not only guarantee good compost quality, but they are
also able to combine high turnover to private customers with high revenues. In this way, they
can sell around 30% of the compost production to private end-users and generate prices of up to
20 Euro/m
3
for compost and even higher prices for compost blends. A requirement for such a
strategy is that the compost plant is situated in areas with a considerable number of garden
owners.
Figure 2: Billboard outside composting plant (Weiterstadt, Germany) indicating
prices of locally produced compost and compost based goods
28
Unless sizeable proportions of the compost produced can be sold to outlets other than
agriculture for higher prices, the financial feasibility of the composting plants essentially
depends on the gate fees charged for the treatment of the wastes used as input or on subsidies.
According to ORBIT, this is true for all European countries. Ninety-five per cent of the plants
rely on the gate fee. Only very few companies have developed their local market so well that
compost sales contribute substantially to their economic feasibility. In most cases, only a
relatively moderate pressure exists for entering into the revenue-oriented high price markets,
which requires additional efforts and competence in market and product development and
marketing.
The low value per tonne of compost soil improvers and fertilisers is a strong limitation to the
distances over which the transport of compost for agricultural uses makes economic sense.
Transportation over more than 100 km for agricultural uses will only be feasible if there are
specific areas where agriculture has an exceptionally strong demand for organic fertilisers that
cannot be satisfied from local sources or if the waste management sector ‘cross-subsidises’ the
transport cost (negative prices of the compost before transport). The latter is likely to occur if
the alternative treatments for biological waste, such as landfill or incineration, are more
expensive than composting.
2.5.5 Agronomic value of compost
ORBIT/ECN (2008) estimated the agronomic value of compost based on the fertiliser prices
published on 10 April 2007 by the Chamber of Agriculture of North Rhine-Westphalia. For
example, fresh compost produced from kitchen and garden wastes, rich in nutrients and well
structured, and declared as organic NPK fertiliser 1.40 (N)–0.60 (P
2
O
5
)–1.02 (K
2
O) has a
nutrient value of EUR 8.49/tonne fresh matter. The fertiliser value of well-structured compost
with lower nutrient contents (organic PK fertiliser EUR 0.43/kg P
2
O
5
–EUR 0.22/kg K
2
O) was
calculated to be EUR 3.93/tonne fresh matter. The nitrogen content was calculated on the basis
of the available contents. The contents of phosphorus and potassium were calculated at 100 %
on recommendation of agricultural consultants.
In addition to the nutrient value, ORBIT/ECN also calculated the humus value for an average
compost application (ca 2 800 kg humus-C/hectare incorporated within a three-year crop
rotation). Taking the substituted supply costs of humus via ‘green manuring’ with Phacelia or
Sinapis arvensis and/or straw sale as the reference, the humus value of compost was calculated
to be EUR 3.28/tonne fresh matter.
Comparing this with compost prices for agricultural use, it appears that the agronomic value
can be substantially higher than the price paid for it.
According to the German Quality Assurance Organisation of Compost (BGK), the fertiliser
value for compost (with 8.3 kg N/tonne fresh matter, 3.8 kg P
2
O
5
/ tonne fresh matter, 6.8 kg
K
2
O/ tonne fresh matter and 25.1 kg CaO/ tonne fresh matter) was 11.26 Euro/ tonne fresh
matter in April 2011. When including the organic matter, the monetary value of compost is
calculated at 22.82 Euro/ tonne fresh matter.
29
2.5.6 Market outlook for compost
In this section, the theoretical potential of compost production from the source-segregated
biodegradable fractions of MSW is estimated and compared to the theoretical compost use
potential. Also, the amounts of alternative materials, which can be used instead of compost, are
estimated.
Compost production potential
According to Eurostat
13
, 524 kg of municipal waste was generated per person in 2008, of which
about 88 kg or 17% was composted. In absolute figures, this implies 44.5 million tonnes of
MSW being composted. These figures hardly changed from the 2007 data.
Based on ORBIT/ECN study (2008), about 29.5 % or 23.6 million tonnes of the estimated total
recoverable potential of the 80 million tonnes organic waste fractions was separated at the
source and treated predominantly through composting. This corresponds to an average per
capita biowaste and green waste collection rate of about 50 kg/year.
Experience in certain countries showed that a collection rate of up to 180 kg/capita/year of
source-separated organic waste suitable for biological treatment can realistically be achieved
(for example in the Netherlands or Austria). A reasonable and realistically achievable European
average rate might be 150 kg/capita/year (ORBIT/ECN 2008). Using this as a reference, it
would imply a potential of separate biowaste and green waste collection in the EU of about
80 Mtonne/year. If all this were used for compost production, 35–40 Mtonne of compost could
be produced per year. Table 3 shows estimates of current amounts of separately collected
wastes as well as of the maximum potentials for the 27 Member States of the EU.
Table 3: Potential and actual amounts of biowaste and green waste
collected for composting in the EU-27 (1 000 tonnes).
Source: ORBIT/ECN (2008).
Potential quantities
Separately collected
today
(without home
composting) (
3
)
Total
MSW (
1
)
Biowaste
Green
waste
Total
(
2
)
Biowaste
Green
waste
Total
Separately
collected
(% of total
potential)
AT 3 419 750 950 1 700 546 950 1 496 88
BE 4 847 n.d. n.d. 2 573 n.d. n.d. 885 34
BG* 3 593 n.d. n.d. 1 164 0 0 0 0
CY* 554 n.d. n.d. 112 0 0 0 0
CZ 3 979 1 354 180 1 534 10 123 133 9
DE 37 266 8 000 8 000 16 000 4 084 4 254 8 338 52
DK 3 988 433 750 1 183 38 737 775 66
EE 556 195 130 325 0 0 0 0
ES* 25 694 n.d. n.d. 6 456 n.d. n.d. 308 5
(
13
) Eurostat news release 43/2010 http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/8-19032010-AP/EN/8-
19032010-AP-EN.PDF
30
Potential quantities
Separately collected
today
(without home
composting) (
3
)
Total
MSW (
1
)
Biowaste
Green
waste
Total
(
2
)
Biowaste
Green
waste
Total
Separately
collected
(% of total
potential)
FI* 2 451 n.d. n.d. 785 350 100 450 57
FR* 46 000 n.d. n.d. 9 378 300 2 400 2 700 29
EL* 4 854 n.d. n.d. 1 662 0 2 2 0
HU* 4 446 n.d. n.d. 1 515 n.d. n.d. 127 8
IE* 3 041 n.d. n.d. 616 52 71 123 20
IT 31 687 n.d. n.d. 8 700 2 050 380 2 430 28
LT* 1 295 n.d. n.d. 514 0 0 0 0
LU* 321 n.d. n.d. 68 n.d. n.d. 52 76
LV* 715 n.d. n.d. 346 0 0 0 0
MT* 246 n.d. n.d. 60 0 0 0 0
NL* 10 900 n.d. n.d. 2 446 1 656 1 700 3 356 137 (
4
)
PL* 9 353 n.d. n.d. 5 726 n.d. n.d. 70 1
PT 4 696 n.d. n.d. 1 579 24 10 34 2
RO* 8 274 n.d. n.d. 3 249 0 0 0 0
SE* 4 343 n.d. n.d. 1 352 125 250 375 28
SI* 845 n.d. n.d. 300 0 0 0 0
SK* 1 558 n.d. n.d. 808 5 68 73 9
UK* 35 075 n.d. n.d. 9 009 n.d. n.d. 1 872 21
EU-27 257 947 80 101 23 598 29.5
(
1
) Source: Eurostat website (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu).
(
2
) In most cases individual estimations by national experts were missing. For all Member States marked with an asterisk (*)
the realistic potential of biowaste and green waste collection is based on the assumption of 150 kg/capita/year.
(
3
) The estimation of currently collected biowaste and green waste was provided by national experts contacted during the
elaboration of this study (see acknowledgments). The reference year was 2005.
(
4
) The Netherlands with 200 kg/capita/year bio and green waste collection has already exceeded the mean potential estimated
with 150 kg/capita/year. This leads to 137 % collected against potential.
Furthermore, the potential for the production of compost from sewage sludge was estimated to
be from 5 to 10 Mtonnes/year. The potential for the production of compost from other organic
materials cannot reasonably be quantified, because of the very heterogeneous properties even
within one sub-waste stream (e.g. market wastes). The suitability of treating those materials in
an aerobic composting process depends on the composition, degradability, water or nutrient
content (C/N ratio). Composting is not always the first choice. Most of the food and vegetable
residues, for instance, are very wet which makes them more suitable for anaerobic digestion.
For bark and wood, energy generation might sometimes be the preferred option.
Compost use potential
ORBIT/ECN (2008) suggests a simple calculation to illustrate that the theoretical potential for
compost use, in agriculture alone, is much higher than the theoretical compost production
potential from biowaste and green waste. The calculation is reproduced in Table 4. Similar
conclusions were obtained by calculations of this type at the level of individual Member States.
Furthermore, there are specific compost market studies for Germany, Ireland, Spain, France
31
and the United Kingdom (most of them reviewed by ORBIT/ECN) that all conclude that there
is sufficient potential for use of high-quality compost.
Table 4: Comparison of compost production and agricultural use potentials
in the EU.
Source: ORBIT/ECN (2008).
Present situation in EU Amount
Amount of collected bio and green waste 23 600 000 tonnes
Amount of compost produced in the EU-27 11 800 000 tonnes
Arable land for plant production in the EU-27 123 391 000 ha (
14
)
A typical application rate of 10 tonnes compost/year needs 1 800 000 ha
Portion of the total arable land needed to absorb the compost 1.5 %
Theoretical compost production potential (maximum) Amount
Potential for collected bio and green waste 80 000 000 tonnes
Potential amount of compost produced in the EU-27 40 000 000 tonnes
Arable land for plant production in the EU-27 123 391 000 ha
A typical application rate of 10 tonnes compost/year needs 4 000 000 ha
Portion of the total arable land needed to absorb the compost 3.2 %
Substitute materials for compost
As soil improvers, agricultural residues — first of all straw and manure — can create a similar
benefit to compost by fertilising the soil and delivering organic matter. According to
ORBIT/ECN (2008), the effect on humus reproduction is, however, much higher of compost
than of these materials. In the EU, there are from 1.5 to 2 billion tonnes of agricultural residues
per year.
Plant nutrients contained in compost can substitute, to some extent, mineral fertilisers. In
Germany for example, the substitution potential for phosphate is 28 000 tonnes, which
corresponds to 10 % of the phosphate of the mineral fertilisers applied in Germany. These
potentials are 9 % (43 000 tonnes) in the case of potassium and 8 % (175 000 tonnes) in the
case of lime fertilisers.
Compost also competes with the land spreading of sewage sludge. Some 4 Mtonne (dry matter)
treated sludge from municipal waste water treatment was used in agriculture in 2006 in the EU-
27.
(
14
) Source: Eurostat. Statistik kurz gefasst. Landwirtschaft und Fischerei 86/2007. Europäische Gemeinschaften
2007.
32
In growing media, compost can partly substitute peat and bark. Bog peat is still the overall
predominant growing medium constituent in the EU. This is also true for Member States
without domestic peat production. Peat-free growing media are highly esteemed by some
stakeholder and user groups but still play a relatively minor role in the industrial production of
growing media. For technical reasons, bark, coir and compost can only partly serve as
substitutes for peat.
In 2005, 0.95 million m
3
compost and 2.05 million m
3
bark (including wooden materials) were
used in growing media (ORBIT/ECN, 2008).
2.5.7 Digestate supply
The total amount of digestate produced in Europe is estimated at 56 Mtonne fresh matter/year
(
15
). However, it should be noted that not all of the digestate produced is derived from
biodegradable waste only. In view of the high prices paid for electricity produced from biogas
(up to 0.3 Euro/kWh), digestion plants frequently rely on energy crops as input material for
biogas production.
In the EU-27, Germany is the major producer of digestate, with about 36.5 Mtonne digestate
produced annually. The majority of digestate is a residue from the biogas production from
energy crops, which is financially stimulated through the revenues from green electricity
production. Digestate produced from biowaste amounts to only a small fraction of the total
digestate produced, with 2.84 Mtonne fresh matter/year (2008 data). In the German quality
assurance system for digestate (RAL GZ 245/246) of BGK 2.5 million tonnes fresh matter of
digestate are quality assured. A number of 84 digestion plants treat biowaste and 15 digestion
plants treat only renewable energy crops under the BGK QAS. The main input materials are:
renewable energy crops (24%), biowaste from households through biobin (22%), manure
(20%), food waste (14%), fats (10%), former foodstuff (7%) and diverse biowaste (3%). About
93% of the input streams used in anaerobic digestion plants treating waste, based on the
German waste statistics, consists of following waste streams: wastes from agriculture,
horticulture, aquaculture, forestry, hunting and fishing (30.99%), waste from the production of
food of animal origin (21.02%), waste from the production of food of plant origin (14.21%),
municipal sewage sludge (3.14%), commercial food waste (6.84%), green waste (2.75%),
biobin waste from households (14.23%). According to the European Biogas Association, 27
million tonnes of manure are fed into anaerobic digesters in Germany for the production of
biogas, and there is a potential to increase this number to 150 million tonnes. Furthermore it is
stated that Germany produces 75% of all biogas in Europe. Sewage sludge is not allowed in
Germany as input material as in German legislation, the Sewage sludge ordinance takes
precedence.
In Sweden 389 ktonne fresh matter/year digestate was produced in 2008 (with an average dry
matter content of 10%). The input material for anaerobic digestion consisted of source
separated biodegradable fractions of municipal solid waste (17%), commercial food waste
(18%), manure (24%), slaughterhouse residues (29%) and other biodegradable wastes (12%).
In the Netherlands, at the end of 2009, eight plants had a license to ferment separately collected
organic waste from households. These eight plants had a combined licensed capacity of 611
(
15
) E-mail comunication with the European Compost Network (1 February 2011)
33
ktonne. Of these eight, only two actually did digest some material (together 81 ktonne). Besides
these 8 plants that are licensed to digest separate collected biowaste also two installations are
operational that use mixed waste (separation and digestion). The capacity of the digestion part
of these installations in both cases is about 90 ktonne. The digestate from these installations
does not meet the criteria to be used as fertilizer.
In Italy, in 2008, the amount of digestate produced from source segregated biowaste is 52.6
ktonne (fresh matter). In addition to this, digestate is also produced from mixed wastes and
from agricultural wastes. The CIC (Italian Consortium for composting) estimates for the year
2010 a production of 400 ktonne fresh matter. Digestate from biodegradable source separated
wastes is used to produce compost with the requirement of the fertilizer national law (product).
In Flanders (Belgium), in 2010, around 800 ktonne fresh matter of digestate was produced, with
the large majority ending up as mushroom substrate or biothermally dried compost for export.
100 ktonne of source separated vegetable fruit and garden waste were digested in mono-
digestion, whereas 749 ktonne of organic biological waste were co-digested with 415 ktonne
of manure and 149 ktonne of agricultural residues or energy crops.
In the UK, estimated quantities of whole digestate manufactured in 2009 were 124 ktonne. The
quantities reported for separated fibre and separated liquor for the same year were only
respectively 380 and 80 tonnes. Almost similar proportions of municipal (25.4 ktonne) and
non-municipal wastes (23.1 ktonne) were digested (52% and 48%, respectively), which was in
sharp contrast to the composting sector where the ratio was 80% and 20%, respectively. This
implies a reduced reliance on wastes supplied by local authorities, and a more diversified
business model, sourcing wastes from the commercial and industrial sector. Within the
municipal waste category, the majority comprised biodegradable kitchen and canteen wastes
(EWC code 20 01 08; 56%; 14 ktonne), although mixed municipal wastes (20 03 01) comprised
25% (6 ktonne). The latter were only accepted at a single site in Scotland. Waste from markets
(20 03 02) made up 11% (2.76 ktonne), whilst edible oils and fats (20 01 26) were 5% (1.3
ktonne). Wastes from non-municipal sources were split between wastes from agricultural,
horticultural, hunting, fishing and aquacultural primary production, food preparation and
processing) at 40% (9.2 ktonne) and wastes from waste treatment facilities, offsite waste water
treatment plants and the water industry at 60% (13.9 ktonnes). The latter comprised just less
than 14 ktonne of “digestate from anaerobic treatment of animal and vegetable waste” (19 06
06) at one AD plant.
Further data on digestion facilities for biowaste (source separated organics) and municipal solid
waste is provided in a study by De Baere and Mattheeuws (2010). They made an inventory of
the existing plants, contracted installations and plants under construction in several EU member
states (Table 5). Following criteria were taken into account
• At least 10% of organic solid waste from household origin needs to be treated in the
plant, with a minimum capacity of 3 ktonne per year.
• The capacity taken into consideration is the designed capacity for the plant, unless
specified differently by the supplier/operator. For biowaste, the total capacity of the
biowaste plant was used while for mixed and residual waste plants, the actual capacity
going into the digesters was used.
• Plants were not eliminated if their operation ceased.
• The plants taken into consideration have to be at least under construction or contracted
and situated in Europe.
34
Table 5: Installed capacity of anaerobic digestion plants for biowaste and municipal
solid waste (De Baere and Mattheeuws, 2010)
g3
g100g381g410g258g367g3g272g258g393g258g272g349g410g455g3
g894g410g381g374g374g286g400g876g455g286g258g396g895g3
g4g448g286g396g258g336g286g3
g272g258g393g258g272g349g410g455g3
g894g410g381g374g374g286g400g876g455g286g258g396g895g3 g69g437g373g271g286g396g3g3
g4g100g3 g1012g1008g853g1009g1004g1004g3 g1005g1006g853g1004g1011g1005g3 g1011g3
g17g28g3 g1005g1011g1007g853g1011g1004g1004g3 g1007g1008g853g1011g1008g1004g3 g1009g3
g24g28g3 g1005g853g1011g1007g1006g853g1012g1004g1009g3 g1006g1007g853g1005g1004g1008g3 g1011g1009g3
g24g60g3 g1007g1005g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1008g1004g853g1009g1004g1004g3 g1005g3
g28g94g3 g1005g853g1008g1013g1009g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1009g1013g853g1009g1010g1007g3 g1006g1009g3
g38g47g3 g1005g1009g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1005g1009g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1005g3
g38g90g3 g1012g1010g1006g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1010g1010g853g1007g1004g1012g3 g1005g1007g3
g47g100g3 g1007g1013g1011g853g1009g1004g1004g3 g1007g1010g853g1005g1007g1010g3 g1005g1005g3
g62g104g3 g1006g1007g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1005g1005g853g1009g1004g1004g3 g1006g3
g68g100g3 g1008g1009g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1008g1009g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1005g3
g69g62g3 g1008g1011g1010g853g1009g1004g1004g3 g1009g1013g853g1009g1010g1007g3 g1012g3
g87g62g3 g1009g1006g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1005g1007g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1008g3
g87g100g3 g1012g1009g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1006g1005g853g1006g1009g1004g3 g1008g3
g94g28g3 g1008g1004g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1005g1004g853g1004g1004g1004g3 g1008g3
g104g60g3 g1006g1004g1006g853g1009g1004g1004g3 g1008g1004g853g1009g1004g1004g3 g1009g3
g3g3g3g3
g100g381g410g258g367g3 g1009g853g1011g1005g1009g853g1009g1004g1009g3 g3 g1005g1010g1010g3
2.5.8 Digestate use
Europe-wide, the majority of the digestate is recycled in agriculture (80-97%). It is estimated
that the overall ratio of digestate to compost use on farmland is about 1/10 in countries with a
well developed compost market.
In Germany, nearly all digestate is used in agriculture. In Sweden, 96% of the digestate goes to
agriculture.
In the UK, all of the reported whole digestate, liquor and fibre was applied to agricultural land.
The main type of agricultural crop to which whole digestate was applied was grassland (52%),
whilst 43% was applied to cereals / combinable crops. The relatively small quantities of fibre
and liquor were applied predominantly to cereals and other combinable crops.
In Slovenia, when the digestate produced from biowaste meets the requirements of the Decree
on the treatment of biodegradable waste of quality Class I, it can be spread on agricultural land
without restrictions. When the digestate meets the requirements of quality Class II, it can be
used on agricultural land with the permit of the competent authority and in horticulture and
landscaping without restrictions. The quality classes are the same for compost and digestate.
Although the official statistical figures for Germany indicate that 110 ktonne of digestate are
composted, the European Biogas Association states that in practice 250 ktonne of digestate are
35
post-composted, but the anomaly stems from the fact that the resulting material is not always
being declared as compost.
2.5.9 Digestate imports and exports
Very few Member States mentioned current exports or imports of digestate. Sweden and the
Czech Republic explicitly mentioned not importing or exporting digestate.
Import or export of digestate is more likely to happen in smaller countries with a large digestate
production and reduced uptake possibilities in the own market. As such, digestate is exported
from the Flemish Region towards a.o. France, after it is treated in manure treatment plants with
ABPR recognition (1069/2009), or when sanitised in the digestion plant. This is mainly the
solid fraction of digestate (20-25% dry matter), digestate after biothermal drying (40-45% dry
matter) or thermally dried digestate (65-85% dry matter). No liquid digestate is exported,
except as incubation material to set up new anaerobic digestion plants abroad. There is very
few import of digestate because of manure legislation in Flanders hampering the input of extra
nutrients into agriculture. A negligible part of digestate is exported from Wallonia (due to the
fact that some fields from the producer are located in another country), and no import occurs.
2.5.10 Digestate production costs, gate fees and digestate prices
According to the European Biogas Association, production costs range from 10 to 30 Euro per
tonne for biowaste treatment through anaerobic digestion, excluding investment costs. The
figure depends on the technology used and the quality and purity of the input materials. Gate
fees also largely vary on local conditions and regulations and especially on the energy content
of the feedstock. For certain lipid derived materials with high gas potential, anaerobic digestion
operators are even willing to pay for the waste.
The sales price for digestate is generally slightly lower than for compost. Positive prices are
seldom encountered and the digestion plants commonly pay intermediate companies or farmers
for the landspreading of digestate. Furthermore, digestate is rarely sold at cost covering prices,
with an average maximum price of 3 to 5 Euro/tonne for whole digestate. In the best cases,
solid and post-composted digestates can be sold for up to 10 Euro per tonne. Noteworthy,
however, is that dry pelletized digestates can reach prices of up to 150 Euro per tonne in the
agricultural market. Additionally, digestates in all forms can reach higher prices when sold for
private consumer use.
According to the European Biogas Association, several thousands of tonnes of dried digestate
produced from energy crops and manure are already available in the market and sold to
fertiliser factories as well as transported across the borders. Prices range from 5 - 30 € per tonne
depending on the feedstock, content of nutrients and quality.
16
Treatment costs for composting and digestion in Germany are reported to be between 30 and 80
Euro per tonne. Additional composting following digestion adds an additional cost up to 30
Euro per tonne.
16
According to a personal communication with a producer of dried digestate in Belgium, prices of dried digestate
fluctuate in line with market prices for industrial fertilizers.
36
In the Czech Republic, there are only a few waste anaerobic digestion plants. Plant owners are
facing serious difficulties to receive sufficient input of source separated biowaste, due to cheap
landfilling, low enforcement of biowaste diversion targets from landfills and catering waste
shredders, which are very common in every catering facility even if they are not legally
operated. Furthermore, anaerobic digestion plants usually have to pay 1 to 5 Euro/ tonne wet
material for post-composting of digestate. The gate fee for waste treatment is very low to keep
competition with landfilling and avoid direct shredding of biodegradable waste into the
wastewater. Gate fees are hence at 0-15 Euro/tonne, compared to 30-40 Euro/tonne for
landfilling.
In Spain, in Catalonia, production costs for digestate from source separated biowaste are
estimated at between 60 and 90 Euro/tonne of biowaste.
Gate fees in Belgium are reported at 20 Euro/tonne for manure and 15.6 Euro/tonne for other
organic biological waste.
In Slovenia, digestate is given away free of charge to farmers.
In the UK, gate fees for digestion sites are generally higher than for composting sites at £57
(approximately 65 Euro) per tonne. The income from sale of digestate was found to be low,
with a pecuniary value of only £3 (approximately 3.5 Euro) per tonne. The financial value of
anaerobic digestate is estimated at £7 (approximately 8 Euro) per tonne. Although most
digestate is currently going to agriculture, it could offer a cost effective alternative to expensive
commercial fertilisers for the UK's landscape and regeneration sectors. Furthermore, gate fees
are expected to fall in the future, because of increased revenue from the production of
electricity.
2.5.11 Agronomic value of digestate
According to the European Compost Network
17
, the nutrient value for solid digestion products
was about 11.7 Euro/tonne fresh matter and for liquid digestion products 6.7 Euro/tonne fresh
matter. These data were valid for 2007 and went up by about 50% from 2005, due to the rising
prices for mineral fertilisers. They are largely comparable with the nutrient values of compost.
According to the German Quality Assurance Organisation of Compost (BGK), the fertiliser
value for digestate (with 5.2 kg N/m
3
fresh matter, 1.6 kg P
2
O
5
/m
3
fresh matter, 2.3 kg K
2
O/m
3
fresh matter and 2.2 kg CaO/m
3
fresh matter) was 6.38 Euro/m
3
fresh matter in April 2011.
When including organic matter, the monetary value of digestate is calculated at 7.23 Euro/m
3
fresh matter.
Based on ammonia nitrogen content and phosphorous, digestate with 4% dry matter content is
estimated to have an economic value of 4.5 Euro/ton digestate in Sweden.
(
17
) http://www.compost.it/biblio/2010_beacon_conference_perugia/2nd_day/5.c%20-%20Barth.pdf
37
2.5.12 Market outlook for digestate
Despite the low sales price for digestate, several Member States cleary experience an increasing
trend for digestion and a shift from composting to digestion or to combined composting and
digestion. This evolution is explained by the fact that municipalities are able to negotiate lower
gate fees to biowaste operators thanks to increased competition in the biowaste treatment
sector. Hence biowaste operators are forced to generate revenue through other options, such as
through the sale of electricity from biogas production.
In Member States with emerging treatment facilities for biodegradable waste and a large
history of landfilling, the market development seems to be less smooth. In the Czech Republic,
gate fees for landfilling of 30-40 Euro/tonne include 20 Euro/tonne landfill tax that directly
goes to the receiving municipality. Because of the latter policy, municipalities tend to largely
support landfilling, as it provides a certain income, at the expense of anaerobic digestion. As a
result, waste anaerobic digestion plants are orienting themselves towards industrial materials
such as glycerine from biodiesel production, with a high biogas yield.
Finally, high value products, such as biothermally dried digestate sells at prices that compete
with industrially made fertilizers and could hence become an important source of revenue for
digestion plants.
2.6 Standards and technical specifications
This section deals with standards and technical specifications for compost and digestate. It
should be noted, however, that standards and legislative aspects are commonly interwoven, as
certain member states recognize the efforts of voluntary quality assurance schemes through
legislation. Hence, this section and the next section on legislative aspects may contain closely
related information.
2.6.1 Compost categories
Compost classifications are very diverse across Member States. The categories are usually
defined by compost, fertiliser or soil protection legislation or by voluntary standards. The
criteria typically applied for classification are the input materials used, the compost product
quality (contents of hazardous substances, nutrients, impurities), and the uses for which the
compost is fit. In this report, the categories defined according to input materials are called
‘compost types’ and the categories defined according to product quality are called ‘compost
classes’. Table 6 suggests a terminology for the most relevant compost categories. More
detailed descriptions of existing compost categories can be found in ORBIT/ECN (2008).
38
Table 6: Classification of compost.
Source: ORBIT/ECN (2008).
Input material
The compost type is defined by the type, origin and characteristics of the source materials
used for the production of the compost.
Biowaste compost Compost from kitchen and garden waste (from source-separated
waste collection). This is the material commonly collected in the
commingled collection scheme for food and garden waste (brown
bin, ‘biobin’ system).
Green waste compost Compost produced from garden and park waste.
VFG compost Compost from vegetable, fruit and garden waste. This type of
compost has been established in Belgium (Flanders) and the
Netherlands based on the collection scheme for organic household
waste where the collection of meat is excluded.
Biomix compost Biowaste, green waste, sewage sludge (quite a common system in
Italy where sewage sludge is co-composted with source-separated
bio and green waste).
Bark compost Compost produced from bark; usually not mixed with other
organic residues but with additives as a nitrogen source.
Manure compost Compost from solid stable manure or from dewatered (separated)
slurry.
Sewage sludge compost Compost produced from dewatered municipal sewage sludge
together with bulking material.
Mixed waste compost Compost produced from mixed municipal solid waste (only partial
or no source separation of the organic waste fraction), which has
undergone mechanical separation and biological treatment (MBT).
Stabilised biowaste Biologically stabilised (composted) organic fraction from
mechanical biological treatment of residual waste.
Product quality
Compost classes demand certain quality levels as regards the concentration of contaminants
(e.g. heavy metals) and macroscopic impurities.
Heavy metal classes Compost classes are distinguished by limit values for heavy
metals.
Impurity classes Limits for the contents of macroscopic impurities like plastics,
metals and glass. A two-class class system has been suggested,
which should distinguish between composts for food
production/pasture land and non-food areas.
Uses
The use types classify composts for certain areas of application based on defined quality
parameters. In some cases, this is linked to product quality classes.
Compost for organic
farming
For the use of biowaste from source-separated organic household
waste, limit values for heavy metals have to be respected
(Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008). There are no such
quality criteria for other compost types like green waste compost.
Any compost produced from municipal sewage sludge is
forbidden in organic farming.
39
Compost for food
production
Restriction of certain heavy metal or impurities related compost
classes (e.g. Class 2 or B) for use in agricultural or horticultural
food and feedstuff production.
Substrate compost for
growing media and
potting soils
Compost providing specific performance characteristics such as
particle size, salt content, stability, plant response, nutrient
availability, etc., in order to be successfully used as a constituent
in growing media and potting soils.
Mulch compost Compost of a generally coarse structure (higher portions of wood
chips with a maximum particle size up to ca 35 mm) and with
fewer demands regarding maturity.
Mature compost Fully humified compost generally utilised and recommended in all
— also sensitive — applications. Identification is done by methods
testing the plant response or measuring the biological activity of
the compost (e.g. oxygen consumption, CO
2
evolution, self-
heating test).
Fresh compost Partly degraded material that is still in a decomposition process
but thermally sanitised (thermophilic phase). It is used for soil
improvement and fertilisation on agricultural land. Identification is
done by methods testing the plant response or measuring the
biological activity of the compost (e.g. oxygen consumption, CO
2
evolution, self-heating test).
2.6.2 Quality assurance systems
About 700 composting plants in the EU operate under a formal quality assurance system.
Quality assurance typically comprises the following elements:
• raw material/feedstock type and quality;
• limits for hazardous substances;
• hygiene requirements (sanitisation);
• quality criteria for the valuables (e.g. organic matter);
• external monitoring of the product and the production;
• in-house control at the site for all batches (temperature, pH, salt);
• quality label or a certificate for the product;
• annual external quality certification of the site and its successful operations;
• product specifications for different application areas;
• recommendations for use and application information.
In some cases, quality assurance is purely voluntary, on private initiative, but more often it is
required or promoted by legislation or regulatory authorities. Sometimes there are exemptions
from certain legal compliance obligations if the compost is quality certified. Annex 8 provides
detailed descriptions of the existing compost-specific quality assurance schemes in the EU.
In 2010, the European Compost Network (ECN) has launched a European quality assurance
scheme and produced an accompanying quality manual (
18
).
(
18
) http://www.compostnetwork.info/index.php?id=116
40
The ECN-QAS presents an independent quality assurance scheme and includes fundamental
requirements for national quality assurance organisations (NQAO) for compost and basic
requirements for a European compost standard in the first instance. Besides a positive list for
suitable input materials and requirements for process quality also quality criteria for compost
are laid down in the scheme.
The European quality assurance scheme includes the following elements:
• The requirements for conformity assessment of national quality assurance organisations
(NQAO) to the ECN-QAS.
• Regular assessment of the production in the plants by the national quality assurance
organisation (NQAO) by means of process requirements.
• Regular sample taking and analysis of the final product from independent,
acknowledged labs and additionally the evaluation of the results by the national quality
assurance organisation (NQAO).
• Documentation by the national quality assurance organisation (NQAO) with
information about the quality properties of the product, legal requirements, the
necessary compost declaration and information about use and application rates
according to good practice.
• Awarding of the ECN-QAS Conformity Label to national quality assurance
organisations (NQAO).
• Awarding of a quality label for composting plants and compost products by a
conformity assessed national quality assurance organisation (NQAO) in respect to
ECN-QAS.
The ECN-QAS Quality Manual provides all information and recommendations on all checks
that the applicant and the corresponding body (National Quality Assurance Organisation) have
to carry out during the utilisation period of the Conformity Label and Quality Label for
compost. The Quality Manual includes the requirements for the conformity assessment of
national quality assurance organisations and for composting plants.
The Quality Manual is divided in three main parts:
• Part A: The European Quality Assurance Scheme describes the general target and
structure of the European Quality Assurance Scheme (ECN-QAS).
• Part B: Quality Assurance Organisations of the ECN-QAS Quality Manual specifies the
ECN requirements to be met by a national quality assurance organisation (NQAO) for
composting plants, which are preconditions for the described recognition procedure of
an organisation performing quality assurance according to the European Quality
Assurance Scheme of ECN e.V..
• Part C: European Quality Assurance Scheme for Compost of the ECN-QAS Quality
Manual specifies requirements for the operational process management of composting,
the selection of input materials and the compost quality. It includes specifications for
sampling and testing. It also specifies requirements for product certification and
declaration to ensure that the compost products are consistently fit for their intended
uses. These essential elements have to be implemented into the quality assurance
scheme of the national quality assurance organisation (NQAO).
41
2.6.3 Standardisation of sampling and analysis
Today, compost sampling and analysis is carried out following national legal provisions and
standards, which are not always comparable. However, the European Commission earlier gave
a standardisation mandate to CEN for the development of horizontal standards in the field of
sludge, biowaste and soil (Mandate M/330). The mandate considers standards on sampling and
analytical methods for hygienic and biological parameters as well as inorganic and organic
parameters. Consequently, the CEN Technical Board (BT) created a Task Force for ‘Horizontal
Standards in the fields of sludge, biowaste and soil’ (CEN/BT TF 151). On most sampling and
analytical topics, the final consultation and validation of the draft standards took place in
autumn 2007 (
19
). The work of the former TF 151 is now being finalized by a technical
committee, CEN TC 400.
Until horizontal standards elaborated under the guidance of CEN TC400 are formally adopted,
testing and sampling may also be carried out in accordance with test methods developed by
Technical Committee CEN 223 ‘Soil improvers and growing media’ (
20
).
2.6.4 Standards and specifications for digestate
Standards and specifications for digestate have been elaborated in a number of EU-27 member
states. In Germany a quality assurance system exists for digestate which is carried by
“GüteGemeinschaft Gärprodukt e.V.(GGG)”, a member of the “Bundesgütegemeinschaft
Kompost e.V. (BGK).” Also in Belgium, Sweden, and the UK voluntary quality assurance
systems exist for digestate. In each system, the quality is assured by checking the observation
of the national regulations (animal by-product, biowaste and fertiliser regulations), prescribing
positive lists for the feedstock and monitoring the controlling of the process to prove the
compliance with the hygienic requirements. This includes measuring and documenting
temperature and pH-value in the reactor and hygienisation unit, hydraulic retention time as well
as organic and volumetric loading rate. Types and amounts of substrates and additives have to
be documented and certain actions are taken to avoid re-contamination and process
disturbances. The feedstock has to be clean and source separated. The operation is controlled
by plant visits of independent quality managers. The products are regularly (4 -12 times/year)
controlled by independent sample takers and by declaration in analysis reports. Additionally,
recommendations are given for the correct application according to the fertiliser regulation.
The European Biogas Association summarizes the different standards and specifications The
quality criteria and guidelines applied in Germany are denominated as RAL-GZ 245, which
differentiates between solid and liquid digestate. In the UK the quality specification for
digestates is called BSI PAS 110:2010, while the quality assurance scheme aligned to the
specification is called the Biofertiliser Certification Scheme. The Swedish quality assurance is
named SPCR 120. In Switzerland quality guidelines exist for solid and liquid digestate. The
demands and criteria of the quality assurance for digestate in different countries are listed in
Table 7. S
• In the UK, digestate can obtain End of Waste status. The Anaerobic Digestate Quality
Protocol was launched in September 2009 and is developed by WRAP (Waste &
(
19
) http://www.ecn.nl/horizontal/
(
20
) Contact: http://www.cenorm.be/cenorm/index.htm
42
Resources Action Programme) and the Environment Agency in consultation with
industry and other regulatory stakeholders. It is applicable in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland. The protocol sets out end of waste criteria for the production and use
of quality outputs from anaerobic digestion of source-segregated biodegradable waste,
not including sewage sludge. Manure is allowed as an input material. Quality outputs
from anaerobic digestion include the whole digestate, the separated fibre fraction and
the separated liquor. To be Quality Protocol compliant for this material, digestate
producers will need to be certified against the BSI PAS110 certification scheme (
21
),
which is managed by the Environment Agency. The PAS is a fast track precursor to a
potential future British standard.
o Producers and users are not obliged to comply with the Quality Protocol. If they
do not, the quality outputs from anaerobic digestion will normally be considered
to be waste and waste management controls will apply to their handling,
transport and application.
o Input materials may include non-waste biodegradable materials; input materials
that fall under the ABPR must be treated according to the conditions set out in
this regulation.
o It must be demonstrated that the quality digestate is destined for use in one of
the designated market sectors (agriculture, forestry and soil/field-grown
horticulture + land restoration where only separated fibre can be used).
o Test parameters, upper limit values and declaration parameters for validation for
PAS 110 are listed in Annex A.
• The Biofertiliser Certification Scheme (BCS) is currently the only quality assurance
scheme in the UK for quality digestates derived from source-segregated biodegradable
input materials. Information about this scheme can be found on the following web site:
http://www.biofertiliser.org.uk/. A detailed description is given in Annex C3.
• In Sweden, there is a voluntary certification system in place for anaerobic digestate, the
SPCR 120(
22
). This SPCR is a quality assurance system for both the process and the
quality of the end product, digestate. The requirements for the final digestate product
according to this QAS are listed in Annex B. However, as in the case of compost guided
by SPCR 152 QAS, digestate complying with the SPCR 120 quality label continues to
have a waste status. Substrates for certificated digestate should be clean, source
separated and easily biodegradable. Sewage sludge is not included in the input materials
list, but manure is allowed.
• In Germany, the Bundesgütesgemeinschaft Kompost (BGK) is the carrier of the quality
label for compost, digestate products and composted sewage sludge. BGK is recognised
by RAL, the German Institute for Quality Assurance and Certification, as being the
organisation to handle monitoring and controlling of all quality labels in Germany.
According to the input materials used, there are two product groups for digestate and
two corresponding labels: RAL GZ 245 for digestion products derived from biowaste
and RAL GZ 246 for digestion products from renewable energy crops. The allowabale
input materials are marked on a positive list (Annex 1 of the German Biowaste
(
21
) PAS 110:2010 Specification for whole digestate, separated liquor and separated fibre derived from the
anaerobic digestion of source-segregated biodegradable materials
(
22
) http://www.avfallsverige.se/fileadmin/uploads/Rapporter/Biologisk/English_summary_of_SPCR_120.pdf
43
Ordinance) and should be source separated. Sewage sludge is not included in the input
materials list, but manure is allowed. Annex C lists the quality criteria for digestate
products from biowaste. The RAL GZ 245 is a voluntary scheme, yet the efforts of
participants are rewarded by the authorities by exempting member plants from some
control requirements which are subject to the waste legislation. By means of that
procedure quality assured digestate have a "quasi" product status in Germany. Both for
digestate products from biowaste and digestate products from renewable energy crops,
two labels can be authorised for liquid (dry matter content <15%) and solid digestate
products (dry matter content >15%). The minimum quality criteria for digestate
products include valuable ingredients, potentially toxic elements, physical contaminants
and the degree of fermentation. The quality criteria for digestate products from
renewable energy crops differ only in the case of hygienic requirements. The
thermophilic or mesophilic treatment with a temperature of > 37 °C for a dwell time of
20 days is sufficient. Authorisation to use the RAL quality label for digestate products
is granted in accordance with the quality and testing regulations, laid down in the BGK-
Methodbook for analysing organic fertiliser, soil improver and growing media.
Sampling and investigations should be done by an approved external monitoring body.
• In Ireland, the Market Development Programme for Waste Resources 2007-2011 has a
considerable focus on organics with several deliverables, including the establishment of
an industry-based compost standard, the development of a Quality Assurance Scheme
so as to support the establishment of a National Compost Quality Standard and the
establishment of crop trials so as to demonstrate the farming community the benefits of
using compost and digestate within variable agricultural applications. The work to
develop a national compost standard was overseen by the National Standards authority
of Ireland (NSAI) and has been completed in July 2011 by the publication of the
voluntary Irish Standard 441:2011.
• In Spain, at national level there are no standards or technical specifications for digestate
from biodegradable waste, but digested sewage sludge has to fulfil the quality standards
established in the sewage sludge legislation (RD 1310/1990) for its use in agriculture
and digested biowaste has to be composted and is subject to the same quality standards
as compost (RD 824/2005).
• For the sale of finished biological treatment products such as compost and digestate,
different rules apply in Belgium, such as at European level, but also at federal and
regional levels. At European level, these products are subject to Animal Byproducts
Regulation (EC) 1069/2009 and Commission Regulation (EC) 1013/2006. At the
federal level, the Royal Decree of 07/01/1998 on the marketing of fertilizers, soil
improvers and growing substrates is in force, while at the regional level, the Manure
Decree and VLAREA apply in Flanders, and the Sustainable Nitrate Management Plan
(from the Water Code) as well as the Waste Decree apply in Wallonia. For digestates
and derived materials containing sludges from waste water treatment, the restrictions
mentioned in article 7 of the Sludge Directive 86/278/EEC apply.
o From the point of view that the production of compost should go hand in hand
with the reasoned use of compost and digestate, the Flemish Public Waste
Agency supported the initiation of VLACO, the Flemish Compost Association,
an independent non-profit membership organisation bringing together the
stakeholders with activities related to prevention, collection and treatment of
44
biowaste (OVAM, compost producers, municipalities and inter-municipalities).
The two main work domains of VLACO are compost quality assurance and
compost marketing. Since its start-up in 1992, VLACO has considered quality
as a key issue. VLACO is working according to the principles of independent
certification. This procedure is imposed by Decree in the Flemish legislation
VLAREA on 13.09.2009. General Regulations are established, so that all
conditions be made clear and the companies involved have clearly identified the
certification requirements they must meet. A description of the quality assurance
system is given in Annex C2.
Regarding sampling, in Flanders, Vlaco assembles information about the quality
of the end product by own sample takings. The treatment plants are visited
numerous times per year for sampling and analysis. The minimum required
number of samples taken by the producer is calculated from the fraction of
biowaste and secondary materials in the input of the treatment plant on an
annual basis using the following formula:
number of analyses per year = 1 + X/10000
where X= fraction biowaste and secondary materials (tonnes)
For a plant treating 50 000 tonnes per year this means at least 6 analyses per
year. The number is always rounded up. The analyses packages are considered
by the quality assurance organisation on a case by case basis. If several product
types are produced, the formula above has to be used to calculate the necessary
number of analyses for each product type, where the partition of input is made
per product type. The dates of sampling must be equally divided during the year.
o In Wallonia, quality assurance systems (ISO 14001-EMAS) corresponding to
Regulation EC 761/2011 is actually required for digestion and composting
plants and is specified in the environmental permit of the plant. There are also
maximum concentration levels for heavy metals and organic contaminants.
In Wallonia, analysis is required at a frequency of 1 per 1000 tonnes of fresh
matter. Sampling must be carried out by a registered laboratory in order to
ensure proper representativeness of the material characteristics
• In Slovenia, no quality assurance system has been set up for digestate. The quality
standards are the same for compost and digestate (Class I or II).
45
Table 7: Comparison of digestate standards in DE, UK, SE and Switzerland (Source: European Biogas Association)
46
2.7 Legislative aspects
2.7.1 Introduction
This section looks at the legal frameworks that have been put in place to ensure the usefulness
of compost and digestate and to manage the environmental impacts and risks of compost and
digestate production and use.
The previous sections have argued that the use of compost and digestate as a soil improver or
organic fertiliser can improve the chemical, physical and biological properties of soil and lead
to better agronomic performance as well as to positive environmental impacts. The use of
compost as a component of growing media can reduce the dependence on peat to some extent.
Diverting biodegradable waste from landfills to produce compost or digestate reduces the
climate change impacts of waste management.
At the same time there are, however, substantial environmental and health risks associated with
the production and use of compost and digestate.
Regulators are thus faced with the challenge to optimise the benefits of recycling organic
matter and nutrients through composting, and to avoid unnecessary barriers. At the same time
the health and environmental impacts and risks need to be managed to ensure adequate levels
of safety and environmental protection.
The analysis below pays particular attention to those aspects that are linked to the question of
whether composts are a waste or not. It looks at the current national approaches in determining
the waste status of compost; systems of compost registration or certification; compost
categories; regulation placed on and standards of input materials, product quality and compost
use; health protection; quality assurance schemes; standardisation of compost testing.
Legislative aspects for digestate are discussed at the end of the section.
2.7.2 Current approaches to determining the waste status of compost
Today, Member States follow different approaches when determining the status of compost, i.e.
whether it is considered a waste or not. In some cases, there are explicit and detailed rules set
by legislation under waste law. In other cases, it is mainly up to the discretion of the regulatory
authorities to decide. In a third group of countries, there is an implicit assumption that compost
ceases to be waste when registered as a product (e.g. as fertiliser).
End-of-waste defined by national regulations under waste law or other national environmental
regulations
47
In some Member States, there is legislation under waste law that explicitly defines the
conditions under which compost ceases to be waste. Examples are the Austrian Compost
Ordinance (
23
) and the German Biowaste Ordinance (
24
).
The conditions included in the Austrian Ordinance for compost to be considered as a product
and not a waste includes:
• a positive list of wastes from which the compost may be produced;
• specifications of the product quality (heavy metal threshold values);
• temperature-time profile during composting to achieve hygienic safety;
• labelling provisions;
• quality control provisions on the input materials and the product;
• external quality control provisions;
• mandatory record keeping (for five years) of batch-wise information on input materials
and products, including details of who receives the compost;
• obligations for registering and notifying the authorities;
• analytical methods.
The German Ordinance explicitly states that compost is considered waste until it has been
applied to soil (in the case of agricultural use). However, the waste law-based regulatory
controls are reduced considerably if a quality assurance system is applied. End-of-waste is not
explicitly defined by German regulations when using compost for the production of growing
media.
In France, the product quality requirements for compost produced from MSW are defined by
the French standard NF U44-051. This standard has been made statutory by the French
government. The standard includes thresholds for concentrations of heavy metals and some
organic compounds as well as microbiological and agronomic parameters. Compost that
complies with the requirements of the standard is considered a product (and not a waste).
End-of-waste determined by regulatory authorities, possibly on the basis of acknowledged
protocols and standards
This is the case, for example, in the United Kingdom (England and Wales).
In England and Wales, compost must be sold/supplied in accordance with the Environmental
Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations rules for the storing and spreading of compost on
land. There are no explicit quality criteria, but on the registration form and from the evidence
(test results for the waste) sent to the regulator, the ‘agricultural benefit’ or ‘ecological
improvement’ must be justified. The regulator then makes an evaluation taking account of the
characteristics of the soil/land that is intended to receive the waste, the intended application rate
and any other relevant issues.
(
23
) Verordnung des Bundesministers für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft über
Qualitätsanforderungen an Komposte aus Abfällen (Kompostverordung). BGBl. II — Ausgegeben am 14
August 2001 — No 292.
(
24
) Verordnung über die Verwertung von Bioabfällen auf landwirtschaftlich, forstwirtschaftlich und gärtnerisch
genutzten Boeden. BGBl. I 1998 S. 2955, BGBl. I 2001 S. 1488.
48
The recently agreed Quality Compost Protocol (QCP) represents the thinking of the
Environment Agency for England and Wales as the reference for defining the point at which
compost may become a product. It sets the criteria for production of quality compost from
source-segregated biodegradable waste. Quality compost will normally be regarded as having
ceased to be a waste when dispatched to the customer.
De facto end-of-waste when registered as fertiliser
In many countries, compost has to be registered under fertiliser regulations (e.g. as an organic
fertiliser or as a soil improver) before it can be used in agriculture. It is then implicitly assumed
that registered compost is a product and has ceased to be waste. This situation can be found in
the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Slovenia and Finland.
Finally, there is a group of countries where compost production is not common, compost-
specific regulations do not exist and the waste status of compost is not yet an issue.
More details on how the waste status of compost is determined today in each Member State are
presented in Annex 2-2.
2.7.3 Systems of compost registration or certification
Usually it is required by the corresponding regulation that compost must be registered or
certified before it can be used or placed on the market. Sometimes, but not always, such
registration or certification implies end-of-waste.
In practice, there are three main legal bases under which compost is certified or registered:
• fertiliser legislation, with and without specific compost provisions;
• waste legislation, with specific compost or biowaste ordinances or under general waste
treatment licensing procedures;
• soil protection legislation, with minimum requirements for waste derived materials,
sludge and compost to be spread on land.
Standards or voluntary agreements based on criteria which are implemented by quality
assurance schemes are another category, however, without direct legal status.
Following ORBIT/ECN (2008), one may distinguish four typical compost registration or
certification schemes.
1. Simple registration systems without third-party verification
The main criterion of registration is final compost quality and product declaration (e.g. as an
organic fertiliser or an organic soil improver). Sampling is done directly by the compost
producer. External quality control is not systematic. Inspections by regulatory authorities are
possible but typically not frequent. Usually, once registered, the compost can be traded as a
product without further waste regulatory controls, even if formal end-of-waste is not
49
established explicitly. According to ORBIT, this scheme can be found in the Czech Republic,
Ireland, Spain (certain regions), France, Latvia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland.
2. Simple registration systems with third-party verification
Testing of compost quality is carried out by an external laboratory that is acknowledged by the
authorities. The laboratory may also certify compliance with a wider set of legal requirements
concerning the documentation, the process management and the input materials used. This
system can be found in Spain (certain regions), Denmark and Slovakia.
3. Third-party product certification under specific compost legislation
This means full-scale product certification schemes, such as under the Austrian Compost
Ordinance. Such schemes include the following elements:
• the compost producer is responsible for the compliance with all requirements for input
materials, process management and documentation, external quality approval and
product declaration;
• the compost producer must have a contract with an authorised laboratory;
• sampling is done by the authorised laboratory or a contracted partner of the laboratory;
• the authorised laboratory and/or a quality assurance organisation (QAO) inspect and
approve the required documentation and the required quality and process management
in compliance with all legislative provisions;
• based on the analytical and the on-site inspection report, the authorised laboratory or the
QAO awards a product and plant operation certificate including (in most cases) the
permission for the use of a quality label;
• in some cases, the compost then obtains the product status from the moment a compost
batch is declared compliant according to the certificate provided by the external
laboratory or QAO;
• based on the certified product labelling and declaration including recommendations for
proper use in the foreseen applications and market sectors, the correct application in line
with all further soil and environment related rules is entirely the responsibility of the
user.
Schemes of this type exist in Belgium (Flanders), Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Austria and Sweden. Membership of a quality assurance organisation is, in most cases,
voluntary, although often promoted by authorities or legal incentives. In Belgium (Flanders),
the entire external certification and quality assurance system is executed by a semi-public
organisation and it is obligatory for all compost producers to participate.
4. Third-party certification including the use of compost
In the United Kingdom, the Quality Protocol (QCP) issued by the Environment Agency and the
Waste & Resources and Action Programme (WRAP and Environment Agency, 2007) has
established a comprehensive quality assurance scheme which requires extensive documentation
and record keeping from the compost producer. The QCP also contains requirements for
accreditation and auditing by the sector. In this respect, the concept is similar to the scheme
described above. It is different, however, in that it also requires compost use documentation in
50
agriculture and soil-grown horticulture to be kept by the land manager and made available to
the compost producer and the certification body.
2.7.4 Regulations and standards on input materials
Most national regulations dealing with compost include restrictions on the input materials that
may be used for compost production. In most cases, there are ‘positive lists’ of the allowed
types of input materials. Materials not included on the list are forbidden as inputs. The most
sensitive questions regarding input materials are whether municipal sewage sludge is allowed
and in what form the biological fractions of MSW may be used as an input (whether there is a
requirement for source segregation or not).
Most positive lists follow the classification of the European Waste Catalogue, and in some
cases, include some additional specifications or requirements. If the waste list is directly
binding, the system is rather rigid. This has been addressed, for example, in the case of
Belgium, by allowing case-by-case decisions to be made by the competent authorities, based on
a more generic positive list.
Usually, national regulations require that composting plants are run with a consistent control of
the input material (compliance check upon receiving the waste), which includes documentation
to ensure traceability and allows inspection by the competent authorities.
Annex 9 presents a comparative list and classification of the waste materials that are allowed
for the production of compost in EU Member States.
2.7.5 Regulations and standards on product quality
Compost-related national regulations as well as compost quality certification schemes usually
include minimum product quality requirements for ensuring the usefulness of compost and for
achieving the desired levels of health and environment protection. Minimum product quality
requirements typically demand that composts should:
• have a minimum organic matter content, to ensure basic usefulness and to prevent
dilution with inorganic materials, as well as sufficient stability/maturity;
• not contain certain pathogens (such as salmonellae) that pose health risks;
• contain only a limited amount of macroscopic impurities (as a basic requirement for
usefulness and to limit the risks of injuries);
• only have limited concentrations of pollutants (mainly regarding heavy metals and
sometimes also certain types of organic pollutants).
Further requirements are often included as specifications for certain uses and application areas.
For instance, there are a number of compost standards and specifications for using compost in
growing media and potting soil or for use in landscaping. Examples are the RHP quality mark
for compost substrate components for horticulture and consumer use, or the RAL Quality label
for compost with requirements for compost for potting soils/growing media (RAL, 2007) (see
also Section 2.4.2).
51
In addition to requiring that limit values for the mentioned parameters are met, it is usually also
required that the values for these parameters and further properties, such as salinity or electric
conductivity, are declared (without the need for complying with limits). The purpose is to
inform the potential users of the compost about the material properties.
Legal limits on heavy metal concentrations are in place everywhere that compost plays a role
today. Limits are usually set at a national level and differ from country to country. In some
countries, limits have been set for a number of different compost classes. At the EU level, a set
of heavy metal concentration limits exists as part of the EU eco-label criteria for soil improvers
and growing media. Another set of limits applies to the use of certain composts in organic
agriculture. Annex 3 provides an overview of the heavy metal concentration limits for compost
in the EU.
In most places, limits also exist for macroscopic impurities. Sometimes a maximum
concentration is set for the sum of plastics, metals and glass particles with a particle size of > 2
to 5 mm or there may be more complex regulations with separate limits for different types of
impurities and considering more than one particle size (e.g. 2 and 20 mm fraction for plastic
constituents).
Annex 4 shows examples of the impurity limits included in national regulations and standards.
The rules for compliance testing (number of tests, protocols for sampling, analysis) are also
different across Member States. Efforts to produce European harmonised standards are ongoing
(see also Section 2.6.3.).
2.7.6 Health-related requirements
Provisions for the exclusion of potential pathogenic micro-organisms are established on two
levels:
• direct methods by setting minimum requirements for pathogenic indicator organisms in
the final product;
• indirect methods by the documentation and recording of the process showing
compliance with required process parameters (HACCP concepts, temperature regime,
black and white zone separation, hygienisation/sanitisation in closed reactors, etc.).
Annex 5 gives an overview of national regulations with respect to indirect and direct methods
as well as of the requirements of the EU Eco-labels on soil improvers and growing media and
of the Animal By-products Regulations. It also shows the requirements and limit values for
germinating weeds and plant propagules.
At the European level, a key reference is the Animal By-products Regulation (ABPR) (
25
),
which provides detailed hygienisation rules for composting and biogas plants which treat
animal by-products.
(
25
) Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 laying
down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption
and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 1-33).
52
The ABPR restricts the types of animal by-products that may be transformed in a biogas or
composting plant. Materials that are allowed under certain conditions include amongst others:
• manure and digestive tract content;
• animal parts fit for human consumption (not intended for human consumption because
of commercial reasons);
• animal parts rejected as unfit for human consumption (without any signs of
transmissible diseases) and derived from carcasses fit for human consumption;
• blood, hides and skins, hooves, feathers, wool, horns, hair and fur (without any signs of
diseases communicable through them);
• former foodstuffs and waste from the food industry containing animal products;
• raw milk;
• shells, hatchery by-products and cracked egg by-products;
• fish or other sea animals (except sea mammals);
• fresh fish by-products derived from the food industry.
The hygienisation requirements are laid down in the Implementing Regulation (EC) 142/2011,
(
26
), which entered into force on 4 March 2011. Amongst other requirements, this states that
Category 3 materials (which include, for example, catering waste) used as raw material in a
composting plant must comply with the following minimum requirements:
• maximum particle size before entering the composting reactor: 12 mm;
• minimum temperature in all material in the reactor: 70 °C;
• minimum time in the reactor at 70 °C (all material): 60 minutes.
As an alternative to the time-temperature regime of 70 °C for one hour at a particle size of
12 mm, the possibility of a process validation system to be conducted by Member States was
introduced. The authorisation of other standardised process parameters is bound to the
applicant’s demonstration that such parameters ensure the minimising of biological risks.
The ABPR also requires control of the final product. This is divided into two measures:
• representative sampling during or immediately after processing in order to monitor the
proper functioning of the hygienisation process, and
• representative sampling during or on withdrawal from storage in order to approve the
overall hygiene status of the product.
Escherichia coli or enterococcae are used as indicators for the hygienisation process. The
hygiene status of the product is tested with Salmonella, which must be absent in 25 g of the
product. It is up to the competent authority to decide on sampling schemes (i.e. considering the
total throughput and the maximum time span between two sampling dates).
(
26
) Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 of 25 February 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No
1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down health rules as regards animal by-
products and derived products not intended for human consumption and implementing Council Directive
97/78/EC as regards certain samples and items exempt from veterinary checks at the border under that
Directive.
53
There are possible exceptions for catering waste (
27
), which may be processed in accordance
with national law unless the Commission determines harmonised measures.
According to Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009, organic fertilisers (compost and
residua of biogas production) shall be under strict control until final use of such material.
In summary, it can be stated that compost and digestate containing animal by-products will
always be subject to the specific provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 with regard to
hygienisation, transport, use, etc. No national or EU wide End of Waste regulations established
for such materials can overrule or annul Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009.
2.7.7 Regulations of compost use
The regulations and standards for compost use vary considerably across countries. There are
countries where compost use is subject to a complex network of regulations on national and/or
provincial level (Germany, the Netherlands, Austria) and then there are countries where
compost can be used without any legal directions (Greece, Portugal, Slovenia).
Use rules include direct regulations like dosage restrictions (admitted quantity of compost per
hectare) and indirect rules such as good agricultural practice (GAP) protocols and cross-
compliance requirements in agricultural application. The latter refer mainly to fertilising, which
should be executed in a way that considers the nutrients in soil and in compost as well as the
uptake by the plant and to manage organic matter with the target to keep soils in a proper
condition
The main restrictions in EU countries usually concern the permissible quantity of compost
(tonnes dry matter) at a maximum heavy metal content (compost class) which can be spread
annually, or over two to five years. Annex 6 provides an overview of the restrictions in place.
The following systems of application rules can be distinguished:
• direct load limitation (grams of substance per hectare and year), in most cases
calculated on a basis of 2 to 10 years;
• restrictions of the admissible dosage of dry matter compost per hectare and year;
• restrictions according to a maximum nutrient supply (phosphorus and/or nitrogen) to the
agricultural crops.
The restrictions are usually intended to regulate continuous applications, as in agriculture. In
most other applications, e.g. landscaping, compost is applied only once or infrequently. Here,
larger amounts (e.g. 200 tonnes dry matter in 10 years) are used to achieve the desired
application effects.
In some cases, the factor which limits application rates is not only the heavy metals but the
nutrient contents, especially phosphorus and nitrogen.
(
27
) Catering waste means all waste food including used cooking oil originating in restaurants, catering facilities
and kitchens, including central kitchens and household kitchens.
54
The ranges of restrictions for the amounts of compost (on a dry matter basis per hectare) or
plant nutrients to be applied can be summarised as follows:
• quantity of compost (*) agriculture/regular 3 (pasture)–15 (arable) tonnes/ha/year
non-food/regular 6.6–15 tonnes/ha/year
on-food/once 100–400 tonnes/ha
• quantity of N agriculture/regular 150–250 kg/ha/year
• quantity of P
2
O
5
agriculture/regular 22–80 kg/ha/year
set aside land 20 kg/ha/year
(ha = hectare)
(*) In most cases quantity differentiation depends on quality class obtained.
More details, country by country, are provided in Annex 6.
In many cases, the need to comply with the EU Nitrates Directive or national water protection
legislation has led to maximum application regimes for nitrogen or forbidding the application
of compost during the winter season. This is justified by the fact that there is no nutrient uptake
in winter time, so there is a risk that all nutrients are washed out as runoff to the water bodies.
Finally, it becomes more and more common to consider the application of compost in fertiliser
management systems. Germany for example refers to the need to follow ‘best fertilising expert
practise’, whilst in the Netherlands there is a system of three application standards per hectare
and year (total N from fertilisers, total P from fertilisers and total N from animal manure).
2.7.8 Legislative aspects for digestate
Most member states generally regulate the quality and application of digestate and other
biowastes through waste laws (e.g. DK) or fertiliser legislation (e.g NL), which are similar or
identical to the data described above for composts.
In the UK, digestate can receive end of waste status through the Quality Protocol. Also the
Czech Republic provides product status for digestate via national regulation: biodegradable
waste treatment decree (341/2008 Sb.) or fertilizer law (156/1998 Sb.).
On a European level, the Animal By-Products Regulation also applies to anaerobic digestion
facilities.
• England, Wales and Northern Ireland have adopted the ‘Quality Protocol for the
production and use of quality outputs from the anaerobic digestion of source-separated
biodegradable waste’ (AD QP). This document defines the full recovery for digestates,
namely the point at which digestates cease to be waste and can be used as a product,
without the need for waste management controls. More information is provided in
Annex C4.
• In Germany there is no specific legislation only for digestate. Legal requirements for
digestate are included in waste legislation as well as in the legislation on fertilisers.
Waste legislation regulates “bio-waste”, which is not identical to the European
definition, as it includes a number of biodegradable waste streams apart from kitchen
55
and green waste suited for later use on soil. These waste streams are listed in the
Ordinance on the Utilisation of Biowastes on Land used for Agricultural, Silvicultural
and Horticultural Purposes. The ordinance applies to any treatment, treatment meaning
any controlled degradation of bio-waste under aerobic conditions (composting) or
anaerobic conditions (fermentation) or any other measures for sanitisation suitable for
the biodegradable waste listed in the bio-waste ordinance. All quality requirements, i.e.
limit values for pollutants or standards for pathogen reduction, for bio-waste apply.
Detailed specifications concerning specific waste streams or treatment methods can be
found in the ordinance as well. Voluntary quality assurance systems are structured
along the same lines and from the legal point of view are valid for compost and
digestate irrespective of the fact whether digestate has been composted following
anaerobic treatment or is liquid or solid. Next to the obligatory legal parameters a
Quality Assurance (QA) system can of course include additional parameters for specific
outputs, i.e. the BGK RAL QA system includes the “degree of digestion” in the form of
organic acids that must be lower than 1500 mg/l for liquid digestate but not for
compost. Furthermore, additives are regulated in the Fertilizer Ordinance and used only
in low concentrations in anaerobic digestion. The aim is to stabilize and optimize the
anaerobic process or avoid the formation of hydrogen sulphide. Non-composted
digestate is used frequently as a fertiliser in Germany and in addition to waste
legislation must fulfil the requirements of legislation on the use of fertilisers.
• The Netherlands have no specific end of waste legislation for biowaste, nor for
digestate. However, within the Dutch Fertiliser Act there are provisions for different
types of biowaste which can be allowed as a fertiliser on agricultural land. The effect is
similar to having an EoW status. A distinction is made between compost, sewage sludge
and other biowaste from the food/feed/fuel -process industry. For each group of these
fertilizers only one class of quality criteria is available in the Fertilizer act. Furthermore,
there is no specific registration system in place for digestate. Regulating the input side
is generally not used. It is for the operator to ensure that his product meets the quality
criteria on the output side. In general, for separately collected biowaste this is no
problem, but the Dutch experience with digestate from mixed waste is that such
material can not meet the output criteria. The Dutch Ministry of Environment and
Infrastructure also mentions that an associated problem is the fact that mixed waste may
contain all sorts of pollutants, which can and will in practice not all be monitored.
According to them, this increases the risk that also the end product contains unknown
(non monitored) pollutants in concentrations likely to endanger the environment or
human health. They argue that for separately collected material this risk is not
significant. For the use of digestate on soils, the same requirements apply as for
compost from aerobic treatment of biodegradable waste.
• In Spain, no specific legislation regarding digestate from biodegradable waste exists.
However various parts of existing legislation are also applicable to digestate: digested
sludge is subject to legislation on sewage sludge and digested source-separated
biowaste or digested organic matter from mixed municipal waste (usually composted) is
subject to legislation on compost. In Catalonia there is also a technical instruction
according to which sewage sludge that is not suitable for direct application in
agriculture is also prohibited as input material in co-digestion plants to be co-digested
with manures or slurries, an analysis of digestate and soil is required prior to the
agricultural spreading of digestate when this digestate comes from co-digestion plants
56
and digestate from biowaste has to be composted and can be used in agriculture but
digestate from mixed municipal waste has to be stabilised and can not be used in
agriculture.
• In Estonia, the use of sewage sludge in agriculture is heavily regulated. If the inputs for
anaerobic digestion are manure and slurry, the quality and use does not fall under the
Jäätmeseaduse (Waste Act) regulation, but under the Väetiseseaduse (Fertilizer Act)
and Veeseaduse (Water Act) regulation. In the case of sewage sludge, the quality
standards are currently based on the Water Act through the regulation of sewage sludge.
• In Slovenia, at present, digestate is covered by the Decree on the treatment of
biodegradable waste (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 62/2008). The
annex 1 to this Decree provides a list of biowaste suitable for biological treatment. In
case of production of compost or digestate, the producer has to put in place the
necessary controls on the incoming biowaste to ensure that there is no intentional
dilution of polluting substances.
• In Austria, the same positive list of input materials applicable for compost also applies
for the treatment in biogas plants if the material is suitable for digestion. The list is
based on the principle of separate collection and the use of clean and traceable organic
sources. Furthermore, Austria has a Guideline on the use of digestate on agricultural
land.
2.8 Environmental and health issues
2.8.1 Environmental and health issues of compost
2.8.1.1 Introduction
Quite independently of the composting technique applied and the nature of the input materials,
composting has a series of potential environmental interventions and health issues associated to
it. They are presented in this section and include greenhouse gas and other air emissions, water
emissions (leachate), soil related effects, hygiene issues and the risk of injuries, and positive
environmental effects of compost use. Finally, conclusions are made with the regard to the
main issues.
The fact that the potential environmental and health impacts of composting are discussed in a
comprehensive manner should not be misinterpreted as an indication per se of compost being
good or bad for the environment. The purpose of this chapter is simply to provide the
information base for understanding the potential environmental and health impacts and risks
that need to be managed. Such a comprehensive analysis is required for any material that is a
potential candidate for end-of-waste criteria.
57
2.8.1.2 Air emissions
Gaseous emissions from the composting process include carbon dioxide (CO
2
), water vapour,
and, in smaller quantities ammonia, (NH
3
), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), bioaerosols
(fungi, bacteria, actinomycetes, endotoxins, mycotoxins) and particulates. Usually there will
also be methane (CH
4
) emissions, as it is often not possible to guarantee that all material will be
kept under aerobic conditions at all times. Depending on the input materials, composting may
release odour emissions, which can potentially be strong.
In closed composting systems, biofilters are often used to treat the waste gas to reduce the
emissions of odours, some VOCs, ammonia, aerosols and particulates. On the other hand,
certain emissions may also be increased by biofilters, in particular N
2
O.
According to ADEME (2005) and DEFRA (2004), there is a lack of generally representative
quantitative air emission data.
The DEFRA study carried out a ‘Review of environmental and health effects of waste
management: municipal solid waste’. It was based on a substantial sample of the available
literature and data. The study systematically assessed the reliability of all the data, taking into
account, for instance, the number of waste management facilities from which data were
available, if an extrapolation to the full sector at a national level was possible, and whether the
information came from peer reviewed literature, was endorsed by governmental bodies, or
came from ‘grey’ literature. The study report as such underwent an external review by the
Royal Society. The study concluded that the available data were not sufficient to quantify air
emissions from composting, mechanical biological treatment (MBT) or anaerobic treatment.
The ADEME report, which systematically establishes emissions data for biological treatments
based on a reliability assessment of data found in literature, comes to similar conclusions, and
confirms that there is a general lack of representative air emissions data (and, in the case of
compost, especially VOCs). It also notes a general lack of data on emissions during the storage
of the biological material.
In recent years, several new investigations on gaseous emissions from composting, covering
various composting techniques, have, nevertheless, been carried out and used to characterise
the state of the art of composting (Amlinger et al., 2005; Cuhls and Mähl, 2008).
The CH
4
and N
2
O emissions are important for the climate change impacts of composting (see
Section 2.8.1.3 on greenhouse gas emissions) while the CO
2
emissions are considered climate-
neutral because they originate mainly from short-cycle biomass (see also next section on
greenhouse gas emissions).
The other emissions are relevant mainly for potential occupational and local population health
impacts or may be perceived to be a nuisance. They make it necessary to take suitable measures
to protect plant workers and residents in the surrounding areas.
Workers at a composting facility may be exposed to, and inhale, large quantities of bioaerosols
if not protected by technical or operational means. It needs to be considered that there are
certain individuals, for example asthmatics and the immuno-compromised, that are especially
susceptible to potential adverse health effects after exposure to bioaerosols.
58
2.8.1.3 Greenhouse gas emissions
The fate of the organic carbon contained in the waste is one of the key factors that determine
the relevance of compost production and use for climate change, i.e. the extent to which the
carbon is immobilised or degraded and emitted as gas, and the proportions of CO
2
and CH
4
in
the gas emissions. A second important factor is N
2
O emissions during composting. Other
greenhouse emissions are, in most cases, of much less relevance (including those originating
from process energy or transport).
According to the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories,
CO
2
from organic waste handling and decay should not be included in greenhouse gas
inventories. The reason is that organic material derived from biomass sources which are
regrown on an annual basis is the primary source of CO
2
released from such waste. These CO
2
emissions are not treated as net emissions from waste according to the IPCC guidelines (if
biomass raw materials are not being produced sustainably, the net CO
2
release should be
calculated and reported under agriculture, land use change or forestry).
However, consideration needs to be given to the fact that if organic waste or materials obtained
from biomass remain at least partly un-degraded for longer times, this effectively removes
carbon from the atmosphere. This is the case, for example, when compost that has been spread
on agricultural land is only slowly mineralised and increases the soil organic matter, or when
organic material in landfills decays only over many years.
Composting, as an aerobic biological degradation process, degrades the carbon of the input
materials mainly into CO
2
. The percentage of the carbon content that is converted depends
partly on the nature of the input material. In the case of kitchen waste, composting converts
about two thirds of the carbon content of the input material into CO
2
. This means that about
0.9 kg CO
2
is generated per kg dry matter of the biowaste input. In the case of green waste, this
value is much lower at about 0.17 kg CO
2
/kg dry matter (ADEME, 2005). Data from the
European Compost Network indicate a CO
2
release of 0.35 to 1.2 kg CO
2
/kg dry matter. It is
noticed that the CO
2
released is neutral to climate change as it has been taken up from the
atmosphere during the lifetime of the organisms.
After the composting process is finished and when compost is used, for example, as a soil
improver, the remaining organic matter in the compost is then relatively stable and further
degradation is rather slow. This depends on the physical, chemical and biological environment
in which the compost is used. The further release of carbon to the atmosphere is therefore only
gradual. Relatively little is known about the rates of transformation, which vary depending on
climate and soil type. It has been estimated that, on average, some 13 % of the organic carbon
supplied by the application of compost remains in the soil after 50 years (Eunomia, 2002;
Annex p. 95). Assuming that the composting process had reduced the original organic carbon
content by 50 % (for example of a mixture of green waste and kitchen waste), this means that
about 6.5 % is still not degraded after 50 years. Furthermore, if compost use enhances biomass
production, this may bind further carbon from the atmosphere in addition to the direct carbon
input by the compost.
If compost displaces other fertilisers, this may lead to greenhouse gas emissions being saved by
the avoidance of fertiliser production. If it displaces peat as a soil improver or in growing
media, then this avoids the long-cycle carbon emissions emanating from the degradation of peat
59
under aerobic conditions. According to a report from the Dutch Waste Management
Association(
28
), transport of vegetable, garden and fruit waste causes about 0.010 kg CO
2
-
equivalents emissions per kg input material, compared to savings of 0.113 kg CO
2
-equivalents
per tonne input material by use of the resulting compost in a mixed use scenario (agriculture,
greenhouses, growing media and other peat and fertilizer replacements).
In theory, composting as an aerobic process should not generate CH
4
. In practice, however, and
depending on the type of composting process and its management, the oxygen supply and the
aerobic conditions during the biological degradation are not perfect. The lack of oxygen may
then lead to anaerobic processes and to emissions of CH
4
. The proportion of the carbon content
of the input material that is transformed into CH
4
emissions varies widely, depending on the
type of input materials and the processes, but can be from 0.01 % to 2.4 % of the original
carbon according to ADEME (2005). A typical value found for CH
4
emissions from household
waste composting would be 0.04 kg CO
2
-eq./kg of dry matter of the input material. The
European Compost Network suggests greenhouse gas emissions for CH
4
and N
2
O to be in the
range of 0.03 to 0.07 kg CO
2
-eq/kg fresh matter or 0.09 to 0.2 kg CO
2
-eq/kg dry matter, based
on Amlinger et al. (2008) (obtained from data of different type of composting and different
types of input materials). According to ECN, if compost is well matured then even in piles of
matured compost CH
4
emissions will be close to zero, whereas half rotted and active stocked
material would produce still considerable greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, in principle, at
least in case of mature compost, if incorporated to soil at usual amounts of 0.4 to 0.5 % of a 20
cm soil layer the likelihood of producing higher CH
4
emissions than naturally emitted by the
soil is extremely low.
Sometimes organic waste composting is preceded intentionally by a phase of initial anaerobic
degradation to reduce odours, for example. If the generated gas is not captured adequately, this
will lead to CH
4
emissions to the atmosphere. The CH
4
emissions of such intentional anaerobic
pretreatment seem potentially important but have not yet been investigated.
It is quite likely that the application of compost onto agricultural land is neutral in terms of CH
4
emissions; however, this has not yet been scientifically confirmed. There is a lack of literature
and measured data on how the use of compost on agricultural land influences the flows of CH
4
between the soil and the atmosphere (ADEME, 2005).
N
2
O is generated directly by the composting processes (quantities are strongly influenced by
the C/N ratio) but also in biofilters, which are sometimes used to clean the composting exhaust
gas stream from other components (see for example Cuhls and Mähl, 2008). For the
composting of biowaste, the N
2
O emissions have been found to be in the range 0.002–0.05 kg
CO
2
-eq./kg of input dry matter (typical value: 0.02 kg CO
2
-eq.). For household waste, the range
is 0.005 to 0.125 kg CO
2
-eq./kg of input dry matter (typical value 0.1 kg CO
2
-eq.) (ADEME,
2005). The European Compost Network has also reported numbers within this range.
The use of compost as an organic fertiliser may, to some extent, reduce the N
2
O emissions
associated with the use of mineral nitrogen fertilisers. However, this effect has not been
quantified reliably so far.
Generally, the figures on greenhouse gas emissions other than CO
2
(i.e. CH
4
and N
2
O) are
based on a limited number of measurements, which are not fully representative.
(
28
) Vereniging Afvalbedrijven (2010) Milieuverslag GFT-afval 2009, 34 p.
60
According to information from the European Compost Network, emissions generated during
composting contribute for 0.01 to 0.06% to the national greenhouse gas inventories for the EU.
2.8.1.4 Leachate
Some composting systems recirculate leachate, whilst others treat the liquid residue if required
or discharge it directly into the sewerage system. Often composting requires a net input of
water because of evaporation during the composting process. In well-managed composting
processes impacts on the environment can be assumed to be negligible. However, there is no
consolidated information on the amounts and compositions of leachate released that considers
the variety of composting plants in operation.
2.8.1.5 Soil-related issues
The application of compost to soil changes the soil’s chemical, physical and biological
properties. The parameters affected include: contents and availability of plant nutrients, soil
organic matter, pH, ion exchange capacity, chelating ability, buffering capacity, density,
structure, water management, biodiversity and biological activity. Composts become part of the
soil humus and have long-term effects on soil properties. The ways in which compost can affect
soil are very complex and far from being fully understood; however, it is widely accepted that
compost will have a positive long-term effect on soil fertility if the quality of the compost used
is assured and good agricultural practice is followed.
At the same time, the use of compost on soil as an organic fertiliser or soil improver has diverse
environmental implications. If composts are applied to land, the chemical content of the
composts is transferred to the soil. For potential negative effects, heavy metals and organic
pollutants especially need to be considered.
The contents of heavy metals in composts are generally well studied and controlled in compost
applications. They are determined by the materials entering the composting process as inputs.
Apart from a natural enrichment of heavy metals due to water and organic matter losses, the
composting process itself has little impact on the heavy metal content. Annex D lists 7 heavy
metal contents at median and 95 percentile levels for a series of composts, digestates and
sewage sludges, based on input received following the stakeholder survey of December 2010.
The data clearly indicate that the used technological approach generally has a large influence
on heavy metal content, as e.g. shown from the difference in heavy metal content for French
composts derived from either source separation or MBT. At the same time, large quality
variations are encountered for composts based on the same technology, as is illustrated by the
Cu levels in composts of Dutch VFG compost versus Spanish composts from source separated
materials. Such differences may partly be attributed to different background soil heavy metal
contents or agricultural practices (e.g. use of CuSO
4
as a fungicide), but are also influenced by
the quality of source separation. Finally, lower levels of heavy metals in MBT composts
obtained in more recent times in France compared to the metal levels in compost from Spanish
MBT plants longer ago suggests that technological advancement offers possibilities for quality
improvement. This illustrates that the use of a certain technology in itself does not constitute a
61
sufficient guarantee or insurmountable hurdle for compost quality and that monitoring of input
materials, processes and product quality is of utmost importance.
Heavy metals may be directly toxic to plants or passed through the food chain to humans. The
fate of the heavy metals in soil is very site specific and depends on a number of factors such as
the nature of the crop and the type and pH of the soil. Repeated applications of compost to soil
generally lead to an accumulation of heavy metals, for which the long-term impact may be
unknown. However, a more recent review of existing scientific literature (Smith, 2009) states
that only positive effects of compost application on the microbial status and fertility of soil
have been reported. Nonetheless, there are important local variations concerning the
accumulation of heavy metals (background concentrations are generally increasing), their
leachability into groundwater, and the uptake of heavy metals by plants and consequences once
in the food chain. Some metals such as zinc, copper and nickel are vital trace elements for plant
growth as long as their quantity is not too high.
Relatively little is still known about the contents, fate and effects of organic pollutants in
compost. Organic pollutants may be introduced into the compost through the input materials
and, to some extent, may also be generated during the composting processes. At the same time,
there is also degradation of organic pollutants. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), however,
are hardly removed by composting. It has been shown, for example, that some poly-aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hardly degraded during composting and are ecotoxicologically
relevant when transferred with compost to soil (Kupper et al., 2006).
Field experiments showed, for the investigated quality assured composts in Germany, that
regular applications did not lead to an accumulation of organic pollutants in soil (including
PCB (
29
), PCDD/F (
30
) and PAH) (Kluge et al. 2008).
Generally, there is considerable uncertainty about the exact nature and size of the impacts and
risks when compost is spread on soil, especially if no suitable compost quality assurance is
applied. The reasons include the variability of the input materials used to produce compost and
the fact that composting is a biological process which is more complex than, for example, many
chemical processes. As a consequence, there may be a high variability in the qualities of the
different compost batches produced at the same site and even more so between different
compost plants. Finally, much is still unknown about what actually happens to compost and its
constituents once spread on soil.
The limitations of current knowledge are also reflected in the opinion of the Scientific
Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment (CSTEE; adopted on 8 January 2004)
in the report ‘Heavy Metals and Organic Compounds from Wastes Used as Organic Fertilisers’
(Amlinger et al., 2004). This study was commissioned by the Directorate-General for the
Environment in the framework of its background work related to possible legislative proposals
concerning the biological treatment of biodegradable waste. The CSTEE concluded that the
study did not provide sufficient scientific bases for the Commission to be able to propose the
appropriate threshold levels for pollutants in compost. To date, there appears to be no other
studies or research results that could easily provide a strictly scientific basis at a European
level. The major issue remains the determination of safe levels of heavy metals in soils with
regard to human toxicity and ecotoxicity.
(
29
) Polychlorinated biphenyls.
(
30
) Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans.
62
2.8.1.6 Hygiene issues and the risk of injuries
From a hygienic point of view, the application of compost is associated with risks unless the
compost production is controlled appropriately. The reason is that the biological wastes used to
produce compost may contain different types of pathogens, which may be bacteria, viruses,
fungi, parasites and prions (at least theoretically). Compost may also contain weeds and viable
plant propagules, which may encourage weed growth when spread on the land. The presence of
pathogens in the input material depends on the origin, storage and pretreatment. If the
composting process does not provide the required conditions to reduce or even eliminate the
pathogens during the composting process, these pathogens may still be present in the compost,
and, in the worst case, some of them may even have multiplied during composting. After
application to land, the pathogens may then infect animals, plants or humans and pose serious
health and plant disease control problems. Particular care needs to be taken in the case of
grazing animals and in the production of salads, vegetables and fruits that grow close to the
ground and may be consumed raw.
The main measures for controlling the contamination of compost with pathogens are to sort out
especially risky material, such as nappies, from the compost feedstock and to ensure that all of
the material in the compost process is subject to temperature-time profiles that kill off the
pathogens (sanitation) or reduce the population to an extent where it is considered to be below a
specific hazard threshold.
Macroscopic impurities of compost (especially plastic, glass and metal objects) not only reduce
the aesthetic value of land, they also bring the risk of accidents, such as worker injuries when
handling compost containing glass fragments.
When compost is used as a component in growing media, direct health and safety aspects are of
special importance because of the often quite intense contact workers have with the material.
Macroscopic glass fragments, for example, must not be present.
2.8.1.7 Positive environmental effects
The use of compost as an organic fertiliser can, to some extent, replace the use of mineral
fertilisers. This is clearer for potassium and phosphate than for nitrogen because the nitrogen
contained in the organic matter of compost only slowly becomes available to plants. If compost
is used to reduce the need for mineral fertiliser, some of the environmental stresses of fertiliser
production can be avoided. These include greenhouse gas emissions (N
2
O and energy-related
emissions), and impacts of phosphate extraction. The use of compost over longer periods of
time and a lower use of mineral fertilisers also reduces nitrate leaching.
The humus produced from compost increases soil organic matter and stores some of the
biomass carbon contained in compost in soil for longer periods of time. This carbon can be
considered sequestered from the atmosphere, which acts against global warming.
Other potential positive environmental effects that have been attributed to compost include:
• reduced soil erosion;
• compost of a good quality may help to control plant diseases and thus reduce the need
for applying pesticides;
63
• water retention is improved, reducing the need for irrigation and reducing the risk of
flooding;
• the improved soil structure reduces the need to work the soil with agricultural
machinery and the related use of fuel.
When compost can be used instead of peat in growing media, there is also a lower global
warming potential, mainly because peat degrades relatively quickly under the release of ‘long
cycle’ CO
2
when exposed to oxygen. Replacing peat also contributes to the protection of the
biodiversity and landscape value of peatlands and bogs.
2.8.1.8 Conclusions with regard to managing potential environmental and
health effects for compost
There are three main groups of environmental and health issues related to composting that need
to be managed.
1. Climate change
Choices about how to manage and treat the putrescible fraction of MSW have a substantial
influence on the net greenhouse emissions caused in the EU. The Landfill Directive addresses
this by requiring that biological wastes be diverted from landfills. In principle, composting is a
valid recovery route that allows such diversion (the environmentally best treatment option
needs to be assessed in each specific case; for this purpose, life cycle guidelines for the
management of the organic fraction of municipal waste have been prepared by the JRC for DG
Environment and are currently in a final draft value stage. The most critical factors for a high
performance of composting with respect to greenhouse gas emissions is the minimisation of
methane and N
2
O emissions during the composting process, pretreatment and storage.
2. Local health and environmental impacts and risks at, and close to, the composting facility
Odour, gas emissions, leachate, and pathogens in bioaerosols are released from composting
processes and may affect the local environment and the health and well-being of workers and
residents. Plant permits for composting facilities address these issues more and more
appropriately and some Member States have issued guidelines on state-of-the-art composting
techniques that help address these aspects. Composting plants with a capacity of more than 75
tonnes per day are covered in the Industrial Emissions directive(
31
), as well as anaerobic
digestion plants with a capacity of at least 100 tonnes per day.
3. Soil, environment and health protection when using compost, especially when applying
compost to land
This aspect is highly complex because it requires managing the trade off of the benefits of
compost application on land with the environmental and health risks associated with releasing a
material derived from waste that potentially contains many chemical compounds (including
heavy metals and potentially organic pollutants) and biological agents on soils. Whether the
(
31
) Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial
emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334 17.12.2010, p. 17)
64
benefits outweigh the risks depends on the quality of the compost and the local conditions
under which it is applied. The complexity is aggravated by the fact that there are important
knowledge gaps regarding soil properties and functions and the interactions with compost and
its components. Nevertheless, it is widely accepted that the use of quality assured compost with
relatively low pollutant contents following good agricultural practices allows achieving long
term benefits to the soil-plant system that outweigh the risks and potential negative impacts.
Member States where the use of compost plays a substantial role have usually put regulations
in place to ensure a positive trade-off, considering the specific situations of the countries.
Depending on the countries or regions, the use of compost is regulated by soil protection,
fertiliser or waste legislation or combinations thereof. If the introduction of European end-of-
waste criteria changes the waste status of compost in a Member State, then this may affect the
system of rules applying to the use of compost on land. This will then impact on the
corresponding levels of soil, health and environmental protection.
2.8.2 Environmental and health effects of digestate
2.8.2.1 Introduction
Data regarding environmental and health effects of anaerobic digestion and digestate
production are rather limited, compared with the data available on composting. The basic
difference between composting and anaerobic digestion is the presence, respectively absence of
oxygen in the process, which generates different emissions. Whereas these emissions are
mainly composed of CO
2
in composting, CH
4
is the main gas formed during anaerobic
digestion. Hence, it is important to note that any leaks from the digestion process should be
avoided because the greenhouse gas potential of methane is more than 20 times larger than that
of carbon dioxide. Gaseous emissions are thus the major point of possible concern for
anaerobic digestion installations.
2.8.2.2 Gaseous emissions
Enviros Consulting performed a study in 2004 for the UK Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
(
32
) to investigate the necessary planning considerations and impact of newly built MSW
management installations. For anaerobic digestion, the following issues were listed (among
others): published data on air emissions from anaerobic digestion facilities are extremely
limited, and the derivation of emission estimates that has been achieved is based upon a single
study. From that data, the preliminary conclusion is that the emissions from anaerobic digestion
are low compared with those for other waste disposal options (
33
). As the anaerobic digestion
process itself is enclosed, emissions to air should be well controlled. However, as biogas is
under positive pressure in the tank, some fugitive emissions may arise.
There is also the potential for bioaerosols to be released from the anaerobic digestion process,
mainly from feedstock reception and the eventual aeration of the digestate. The separated
dewatered fraction of the digestate should be stored properly in order to avoid methane
emission (Lukehurst et al., 2010).
(
32
) Enviros Consulting, 2004, Planning for Waste Management Facilities: A Research Study, 238 p.
(
33
) Comparison of Emissions from Waste Management Options, Research Undertaken for the National Society for
Clean Air and Environmental Protection, June 2002
65
In 2010, the Netherlands introduced emission factors for calculations within the framework of
the National Inventory Report. The factors relate to fruit, vegetable and garden waste separately
collected from households. The emission factors have been drafted following a study that
showed large spreads on emission factors from several National Inventory Reports of various
countries. The emission factors for digestion are 1100 g CH
4
/tonne input material, 2.3 g NH
3
/tonne input material, 46 g N
2
O /tonne input material, 180 g NO
x
/tonne input material and 10.7
g SO
2
/tonne input material. This compares to the emission factors for composting, which are
750 g CH
4
/tonne input material, 200 g NH
3
/tonne input material and 96 g N
2
O /tonne input
material.
At the same time, the European Biogas Association states that anaerobic digestion offers the
advantage of reducing emissions by avoiding emissions from open storage of e.g. manure or
landfilling of unstable organic matter.
Based on the feedback received from Belgium, in a digestion plant with a QAS system, the
removal of digestate is rather performed in a semi-continuous way, so that only some biogas is
released into the environment. Even if the maximum fermentation is not reached at that
moment, a removal of digestate does not lead immediately to methane production. When the
digestate is cooled down, the digestion process will be cut off (similar to the storage of manure
in a manure pit). Also when separated fibre fraction or dewatered digestate is aerated, there will
be no further methane release, but CO
2
will be formed instead of CH
4
, which in terms of
emissions has less impact on the environment.
Finally, according to a study from the German Environment Ministry
34
, anaerobic digestion
offers clear greenhouse gas savings when performed properly, despite small emissions that may
occur at the plant.
2.8.2.3 Other emissions
• Dust/Odour
One of the main perceived planning issues associated with anaerobic digestion has been the
potential for generation of odour. Odours from any mixed waste or putrescible waste
facility have the potential to represent a nuisance issue, particularly when waste is allowed
to decompose in uncontrolled anaerobic conditions, due to poor storage for example.
However, as the anaerobic digestion process is largely enclosed and controlled, the
potential for odour is greatly reduced. Dust can sometimes be generated when waste is
loaded and unloaded, and when waste is transported onto manoeuvring areas on vehicle
wheels. Digestate may be injected in land in order to reduce ammonia and odour emissions
(Lukehurst et al., 2010). Furthermore, according to Lukehurst et al. (2010), the anaerobic
digestion process induces a reduction of volatile fatty acids, hence reducing odour nuisance
typical for many slurries and especially manure.
• Noise/Vibration
The noise and vibration associated with anaerobic digestion will be similar to that
associated with other waste treatment plants. The process operations are not inherently
noisy, although vehicle manoeuvring, loading and unloading, as well as engines and pumps,
are potential sources of noise.
34
http://www.ifeu.de/landwirtschaft/pdf/BMU-Biogasprojekt%202008-Broschuere.pdf
66
• Water Resources
Waste water can be produced when the solid digestate is de-watered (depending upon the
specific type of anaerobic digestion treatment). This can contain relatively high
concentrations of metals, dissolved nitrogen and organic material, and may cause pollution
if left untreated. This waste water may be disposed of to sewer and treated at a sewage
works, but if the level of contaminants breaches the level imposed by the water companies,
on-site treatment may be necessary.
2.8.2.4 Hygiene issues related to anaerobic digestion
In general, anaerobic digestion provides a hygienisation of the input material.
Lukehurst et al. (2010) mentions following advantages of anaerobic digestion:
• Very effective lowering of the pathogen load, such as gastrointestinal worm eggs,
bacteria and viruses
35
• Plant pathogen reduction and spore destruction
• Weed seed reduction
However, according to the German Environment Ministry, plant pathogens like the Tobacco
Mosaic Virus may not be reliably reduced by an anaerobic digestion process. From a
precautionary point of view the use of digestate in certain crops such as tobacco or tomato and
similar susceptible plants that are used to be grown in green houses is not appropriate.
2.8.2.5 Conclusions with regard to environmental impacts of anaerobic
digestion
A consortium by Enviros Consulting, the University of Birmingham and DEFRA published a
"Review of Environmental and Health Effects of Waste Management: Municipal Solid Waste
and Similar Wastes"(
36
). Figure 3 presents the environmental effects for several MSW
management options. It follows from the study that anaerobic digestion, if well performed, does
not constitute any major environmental burden and even provides benefits to flora/fauna and
soils.
35
According to studies ordered by the Flemish OVAM, lowering of the pathogen load is obtained by thermophilic
digestion, but not by mesophilic digestion
(
36
) http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/statistics/documents/health-report.pdf
67
Figure 3: Summary of key environmental issues for several MSW management
options(
37
)
Regarding possible health impacts, the data did not indicate any major health risk from MSW
management in general or from anaerobic digestion in particular.
As indicated in Figure 3, anaerobic digestion provides several major beneficial environmental
effects. Lukehurst et al. (2010) list the positive effects of anaerobic digestion:
• Biogas produced through anaerobic digestion is a source of renewable energy
• Digestate is a highly valuable biofertiliser that can partially replace mineral fertilisers
• Digestion reduces greenhouse gas emissions from open manure stores
• Digestion provides a highly efficient method for resource recycling
(
37
) http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/statistics/documents/health-report.pdf
68
3 JRC Sampling and analysis campaign
3.1 Background information
A very important discussion issue raised during the first workshop on 2 March 2011 in Seville
was the necessity of reliable and state-of-the-art scientific data on the levels of organic and
inorganic pollutants in different types of compost and digestate to support the decision-making
process for end-of-waste criteria. Especially on the issues of allowing sewage sludge
compost/digestate and compost/digestate based on mechanical biological treatment, extensive
discussions were held, indicating the need to obtain recent scientific data allowing comparative
analysis. Furthermore, the availability of scientific data on inorganic and organic pollutants
turned out to be less ubiquitous for digestate than for some compost types.
It was understood that these necessary scientific data could only be generated through a pan-
European collaborative screening exercise. Such a campaign, consisting of measuring a large
series of biodegradable waste samples in the best possible standardized way, was therefore
organized in May-September 2011.
The two objectives of the collaborative screening exercise were:
1. Generate, within a limited timeframe, a large amount of analytical data, with high
scientific and statistical value, for a number of compost and digestate types, to allow a
general overview and estimation of possible variability of pollutant levels within and
between different compost/digestate materials and technologies.
2. Guarantee maximal objectivity, minimal variation and the smallest possible bias upon
sampling by independent, unannounced control sampling performed by a single team
composed of EC JRC staff only, at selected plants participating in the collaborative
screening exercise.
The results from this collaborative screening exercise will feed the discussions regarding end-
of-waste criteria such as e.g. product quality, input materials or quality assurance. The Institute
for Environment and Sustainability (JRC-IES) in Ispra (Italy) had already been making
provisions for the FATE-COMES study on composts and biowaste materials, following
previous successful pan-European measurement campaigns such as FATE-EUMORE (surface
water), FATE-GROWS (groundwater) and FATE-SEES (sewage sludge and effluents). Their
study formed the basis for the current collaborative screening exercise.
The screening exercise, within FATE-COMES, featured following key elements:
• 162 samples were collected, georeferenced and distributed over the following
categories:
o Compost produced from separately collected organic waste from households and
similar commercial institutions, including garden and park waste
o Compost produced from garden and park waste only (green compost)
o Sewage sludge compost produced from good quality sewage sludge and other
separately collected organic waste (e.g. garden and park waste, straw, etc.)
o Municipal Solid Waste compost generated by Mechanical Biological Treatment
aimed at producing compost (derived from non-hazardous household waste and
similar commercial waste where no separate collection of household waste is in
place)
69
o Digestates from source separated biowastes from households and similar
commercial institutions (liquid and solid fraction)
o Digestates from manure and source separated biowastes from households and
similar commercial institutions (liquid and solid fraction)
o Digestates from manure and energy crops (liquid and solid fraction)
o Digestate derived from Mechanical Biological Treatment of Municipal Solid
Waste, aimed at producing digestate for use in agriculture (derived from non-
hazardous household waste and similar commercial waste)
o Other, minor categories. These include bark compost or municipal solid waste
compost like output generated by Mechanical Biological Treatment aimed at
stabilizing a rest fraction sent to landfill.
• For the first objective, allowing a broad screening of different materials and
technologies, samples were taken by the compost/digestate producers, in sample
containers provided by the JRC-IES, and shipped back to JRC-IES for analysis.
• For the second objective, the JRC selected a number of compost/digestate producing
plants from the list of participating producers, in order to visit these unannounced (last
week of June 2011). The JRC team took their own samples for measurement by JRC-
IES. Nineteen different samples were taken during the sampling campaign, in Italy,
France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.
3.1.1 List of envisaged measurement parameters
The FATE-COMES study envisaged the measurement of following parameters (Table 8).
Table 8: Envisaged parameters for measurement on compost and
digestate samples
Compounds class Method
principle
Perflurorinated surfactants (including PFOS, PFOA) LC MS
Heavy metals (including Ag, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo,
Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Ti, Tl, V, Zn)
ICP-OES
Mercury CV AAS
PCBs GC-MS
PCDD/Fs GC-MS
PAHs GC-MS
Siloxanes LC-MS
Polycyclic Musks LC-MS
Nonylphenol and -ethoxylates LC-MS
PBDE LC-MS
Veterinary drugs, pharmaceuticals Various
Estrogene activitiy (bio-asssay) CALUX
The various compounds are measured by JRC laboratories and selected partner laboratories.
The laboratories follow their validated in-house methods. JRC IES labs are ISO 9001 certified.
Partner laboratories are accredited laboratories under ISO 17025. Where possible, so-called
horizontal standards of CEN TC 400 are used or at least the provisional prEN standards.
70
3.1.2 Sampling methods
In order to reduce the organizational and financial efforts for participating plants, there was no
obligation to perform independent sampling by external accredited sample takers and plants
were allowed to perform the sampling themselves. Where possible, JRC recommended using
EN 12579 for solid samples and EN ISO 5667-13- 1997 "Water quality -Sampling - Part 13:
Guidance on sampling of sludges from sewage and water-treatment works" for liquid samples.
Alternatively, plants could use their usual sampling method.
3.1.3 Sampling protocol
The European Compost Network had prepared a sampling protocol, which was a modified
version of the Sampling Record described in their Quality Assurance Scheme and which was
distributed by the JRC to the participating plants.
3.2 Status
At the date of publication of this working document, nearly all samples from the plants having
expressed their interest to participate had been collected.
The degree of participation by the various Member States generally was in line with the
production level of compost and digestate. In order to avoid bias by overrepresentation of
certain technologies or regions, certain plants were not shortlisted for the final screening
exercise.
The initial focus has been on analyzing the samples collected by the JRC and their counterparts
sampled by the plants themselves and shipped to the JRC.
3.3 Analytical results
3.3.1 Introduction
First of all, it should be stressed that available data at the moment of publication of this
working document are very limited. As such, it is difficult to draw any definite conclusions.
Nevertheless, first available data are reported here, as the whole of the dataset, rather than
individual measurements, may shed light on the differences in quality between the various
materials.
The data are expressed on dry matter basis. The encountered concentrations of the different
pollutants do not per se imply the existence or not of an environmental risk upon usage. To
assess this risk, plant transfer studies should be performed or literature data scrutinized. Hence,
the concentration differences between the different samples can point only to the performance
of the different technological approaches in removing or avoiding certain pollutants in the end
material.
In view of respecting the anonymity of the participating plants, this report has omitted the exact
geographical location and description of the participating plants. In general, it can be stated that
the plants used do not represent any particular exceptions such as the treatment of special input
material. Moreover, they were all using modern technology.
The data below are represented in pairs, with samples sent by the plant marked as "Plant" at the
end of the code, and samples collected by the JRC marked as "JRC".
71
Data for following plants is presented in this document:
1. Green waste compost from green waste originating from gardens and parks through
separate collection (Germany)
2. Sewage sludge compost, made up of sewage sludge and green waste from separate
collection as input materials (Germany)
3. Compost derived from separately collected biowaste from households (biobin) as well
as garden and park waste from separate collection (Germany)
4. Liquid digestate from thermophilic digestion of biowaste derived from separate
collection by households (biobin) (Germany)
5. MBT compost from mechanical biological treatment of mixed municipal waste from
households (which should not contain hazardous substances) (France)
3.3.2 Heavy metals
The results of the heavy metal analysis are depicted in Figure 4.
Hg
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45
MBT comp Plant
MBT comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
mg/kg dry matter
Cr
0 102030405060708090
MBT comp Plant
MBT comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
mg/kg dry matter
Cu
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
MBT comp Plant
MBT comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
mg/kg dry matter
Ni
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
MBT comp Plant
MBT comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
mg/kg dry matter
Pb
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
MBT comp Plant
MBT comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
mg/kg dry matter
Zn
0 100 200 300 400 500
MBT comp Plant
MBT comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
mg/kg dry matter
72
Figure 4: Heavy metals in compost and digestate samples collected by JRC and
sent by plants. Legend: biobin=biowaste from separate collection (households and
similar), comp=compost, dig=digestate, green= green waste, liq=liquid,
MBT=mechanical biological treatment (composting of mixed municipal waste after
mechanical separation), JRC=sampled by JRC, plant=sampled by producing plant
In general, it follows from the analytical data that good agreement is achieved between samples
collected by the compost or digestate producing plants and the JRC, indicating a relatively
constant quality in time and little dependence of the sample taking.
Generally, the concentrations of heavy metals are in the same range for most samples, except
for the MBT samples that display large concentration peaks. More specifically, it is noted that
the highest concentrations of heavy metals are encountered in the MBT compost samples, for
nearly all metals. The high concentrations of heavy metals are encountered in both samples,
except for Zn. One of the liquid digestate samples of separately collected biowaste displays a
high Cu concentration, although this is not confirmed by the other sample. Hg levels also
appear higher in both samples of sewage sludge compost, compared to the other materials.
With the currently proposed heavy metal concentrations for compost/digestate (see following
chapter under Product Quality Requirements), one liquid digestate sample exceeds the
proposed maximum concentration for Cu (100 mg/kg dry matter), whereas several MBT
compost samples exceed proposed limits for Cu (100 mg/kg dry matter), Pb (120 mg/kg dry
matter) and Zn (400 mg/kg dry matter).
3.3.3 Organic pollutants
3.3.3.1 Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and dioxins
Polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins have been banned or limited by the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The toxicity of PCB is related to that of dioxins
and comprises carcinogenic effects, endocrine disruptive effects and neurotoxicity.
Analytical results on PCBs and dioxins are depicted in Figure 5.
PCB
0 2040608010
MBT Comp Plant
MBT Comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
ng/g dry matter
Dioxins
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
MBT Comp Plant
MBT Comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
pg/g dry matter
Figure 5: PCBs and dioxins in compost and digestate samples collected by JRC and
sent by plants. Legend: biobin=biowaste from separate collection (households and
similar), comp=compost, dig=digestate, green= green waste, liq=liquid,
73
MBT=mechanical biological treatment (composting of mixed municipal waste after
mechanical separation), JRC=sampled by JRC, plant=sampled by producing plant
Generally, the concentrations of PCBs and dioxins are in the same range for most samples.
It is noted that the PCB concentration is highest in both MBT samples and one green waste
compost sample (not confirmed by other sample). Dioxin concentration is highest in both MBT
samples and digestate samples.
3.3.3.2 Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, used as flame retardants, are partially subject to the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. PBDEs and their partial breakdown products from
natural decomposition display similar toxicological effects as PCBs.
Analytical results on PBDEs are depicted in Figure 6.
Penta PBDE
0 1020304050607080
MBT Comp Plant
MBT Comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
ng/g dry matter
Octa PBDE
0 1020304050607080
MBT Comp Plant
MBT Comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
ng/g dry matter
Deca PBDE
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
MBT Comp Plant
MBT Comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
ng/g dry matter
Figure 6: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in compost and digestate samples
collected by JRC and sent by plants. Legend: biobin=biowaste from separate
collection (households and similar), comp=compost, dig=digestate, green= green
waste, liq=liquid, MBT=mechanical biological treatment (composting of mixed
municipal waste after mechanical separation), JRC=sampled by JRC, plant=sampled
by producing plant
Here it is clearly seen that concentrations are no longer in the same range for the different
materials but differ over two orders of magnitude in some cases. Whereas most materials still
74
display comparable concentrations of penta-formulated PBDEs (one outlier for one green waste
compost sample but not confirmed by other sample), octa-formulated and deca-formulated
PBDE concentrations clearly depend on the type of material. Octa-formulated PBDE
concentrations are visibly much higher for the MBT samples than for the other samples and
deca-formulated PBDE samples are undoubtedly much higher for the MBT samples and
sewage sludge compost samples than for any of the other samples.
3.3.3.3 Polycyclic musks
Polycyclic musks are used as fragrances in cosmetics, detergents, and other products. Although
their human and eco-toxic effects are generally estimated to be lower than for other persistent
organic pollutants, they are known for their low biodegradability and there is concern about
bioaccumulation.
Analytical results on two polycyclic musks, tonalide and galaxolide, are depicted in Figure 7.
Tonalide
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
MBT Comp Plant
MBT Comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
ng/g dry matter
Galaxolide
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
MBT Comp Plant
MBT Comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
ng/g dry matter
Figure 7: Polycylic musks (tonalide and galaxolide) in compost and digestate
samples collected by JRC and sent by plants. Legend: biobin=biowaste from
separate collection (households and similar), comp=compost, dig=digestate, green=
green waste, liq=liquid, MBT=mechanical biological treatment (composting of mixed
municipal waste after mechanical separation), JRC=sampled by JRC, plant=sampled
by producing plant
From the graphs, it follows that polycyclic musk concentrations are very high in both the
sewage sludge compost samples and MBT samples. Concentrations were below the detection
limit or absent in the other samples.
The discrepancy in concentration of the polycyclic musks between the different materials is
linked to the fate of many personal care and laundry products, which are either discharged into
the household waste or removed with the wastewater of the households. The musks are very
unlikely to come into contact with biowaste from households or green waste, hence their
absence in these materials and the compost or digestate derived from them.
These figures suggest that other compounds present in personal care and laundry products
could also end up in sewage sludge compost or MBT compost, such as pharmaceuticals. This
will have to be confirmed by further analytical data.
75
3.3.3.4 Fluorosurfactants (PFC)
Fluorosurfactants are used in many industrial processes and as stain repellents. They include
perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorononanoic
acid (PFNA). Their toxicity mechanisms include carcinogenic and endocrine dirsruptive
effects.
Analytical results on PFOS, PFOA and PFNA are depicted in Figure 8.
PFOS
024681012
MBT Comp Plant
MBT Comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
ng/g dry matter
PFOA
0246810
MBT Comp Plant
MBT Comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
ng/g dry matter
PFNA
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
MBT Comp Plant
MBT Comp JRC
Biobin liq dig Plant
Biobin liq dig JRC
Biobin + green comp Plant
Biobin + green comp JRC
Sludge comp Plant
Sludge comp JRC
Green waste comp Plant
Green waste comp JRC
ng/g dry matter
Figure 8: Fluorosurfactants (PFOS, PFOA, PFNA) in compost and digestate samples
collected by JRC and sent by plants . Legend: biobin=biowaste from separate
collection (households and similar), comp=compost, dig=digestate, green= green
waste, liq=liquid, MBT=mechanical biological treatment (composting of mixed
municipal waste after mechanical separation), JRC=sampled by JRC, plant=sampled
by producing plant
The graphs clearly demonstrate that fluorosurfactants appear in all analyzed materials. Again, it
is noted that the highest concentrations are encountered in all sewage sludge compost samples
and all but one MBT compost sample.
3.3.4 Conclusion and recommendations
In general, it can be concluded from these preliminary data that:
• MBT compost samples contain very high concentrations of heavy metals and organic
pollutants, compared to the other sampled materials. This was confirmed by the
measurements of both the JRC sample and the sample provided by the plant.
76
• The concentration of heavy metals and organic pollutants in sewage sludge compost
was often comparable with that of the other materials, except for Hg, certain
polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polycyclic musks and certain fluorosurfactants, where
the measured concentration was much higher than in the materials from separate
collection of biowaste and green waste. Data were confirmed by the measurements of
both the JRC samples and the samples provided by the plant. This suggests that sewage
sludge forms a sink for mercury and many persistent organic pollutants.
• Other materials occasionally exhibited high concentrations of certain pollutants in either
the sample collected by the JRC or by the producing plant, but this was not confirmed
by the measurement of the other sample.
Given the limited data that are available, no firm conclusions can be drawn up at this moment.
However, based on the available preliminary data, and in respect of the precautionary principle,
it is recommended that MBT compost and digestate as well as sewage sludge compost and
digestate are to be excluded from eligibility for end of waste status.
77
4 End-of-waste criteria
4.1 Background information
4.1.1 Introduction
End-of-waste criteria for a material should be such that the recycled material has waste status if
– and only if – regulatory controls under waste legislation are needed to protect the
environment and human health.
Criteria have to be developed in compliance with the legal conditions set out in Article 6 of the
WFD, be operational, not lead to new disproportionate burdens and undesirable side-effects,
and consider that the collection and treatment of biodegradable waste into e.g. compost is a
well-functioning practice today. Criteria have to be ambitious in providing benefits to as many
flows as possible, but must also ensure protection of the environment and human health
through strictness. The criteria must address with priority the main and largest represented
flows in the EU fulfilling the conditions of the WFD. Criteria cannot fail to target these priority
flows by trying to encompass all existing biodegradable waste flows, and all national and
regional singularities.
Through end-of-waste, the intention is to promote more recycling and use of waste materials as
resources, reduce consumption of natural resources and reduce the amount of waste sent for
disposal. A material which satisfies a set of end-of-waste criteria can then be freely traded as a
non-waste material and thereby its beneficial use promoted. Potential users of the material
should be able to have increased confidence on the quality standards of the material and this
may also help to alleviate any user prejudice against the material simply because it is classified
as waste.
This chapter suggests how the end-of-waste criteria for compost and digestate would have to be
defined so that they fulfil the conditions and purposes specified in Article 6 of the WFD. It first
identifies and discusses the different reasons why the end-of-waste criteria for compost and
digestate would be beneficial, then it goes through the four conditions of Article 6 and analyses
what they mean for the specific case of compost and to a lesser extent for digestate. Finally, a
set of end-of-waste criteria on compost and digestate and accompanying measures are proposed
accordingly.
4.1.2 Rationale for end-of-waste criteria
The purpose of having end-of-waste criteria is to facilitate recycling and to obtain
environmental and economic benefits. This section discusses how, i.e. through which
mechanisms, end-of-waste criteria may achieve this in the case of compost and digestate.
4.1.2.1 Improve harmonisation and legal certainty in the internal market
There are environmental and economic benefits to be gained as the end-of-waste criteria
improve the harmonisation and legal certainty in the internal market.
78
There is currently no harmonised way in the EU for determining whether a compost or
digestate material is a waste or a ‘normal’ product. Member States deal with the question rather
differently. There is a group of Member States where there are types of composts or digestates
that are explicitly recognised as non-waste even if they are produced from input materials that
are waste. However, across these Member States, the standards that composts and digestates
must meet in order to qualify as normal products differ considerably. Then there are other
Member States where composts or digestates made from waste are always considered waste,
regardless of the quality of the material. In the remaining Member States there are no explicit
general rules and the classification of compost/digestate as waste or not is left to case-by-case
decisions or to interpretive protocols that are applicable to certain parts of the Member State.
The lack of harmonisation creates legal uncertainty for waste management decisions and for the
different actors dealing with the material, including the producers and users of
compost/digestate or haulage contractors. The uncertainty arises especially when trade between
Member States is involved. However, there are also differences in interpreting the waste status
of compost and digestate between different regions within certain Member States.
One identified consequence is that both compost/digestate producers and users tend to restrict
themselves to the national (or regional) market because they want to avoid the administrative
and judicial costs or risks of an unclear waste status of the material. This means that
composts/digestates do not always reach the place where they could, in principle, be used best,
i.e. economically and delivering the highest benefits with the proportionally lowest
environmental and health risks. It may also mean that less compost/digestate is produced. In
fact, the volumes of compost and digestate traded between Member States are smaller today
than they could theoretically be and it is likely that with clear rules about when compost and
digestate cease to be waste, the supply and demand of these materials would be balanced better.
The legal uncertainty regarding the waste status of compost/digestate also affects the
investment decisions on new treatment capacities for the management of biological wastes.
Such uncertainty evidently comes at a cost when it hinders the development of the composting
and digestion sector in situations where, in reality, the conditions would exist for compost or
digestate to cease to be waste. This is relevant not only for the situation in certain Member
States, but especially also at the European level. For example, the possibility of exporting
compost/digestate is an important factor for the feasibility of a composting/digestion plant in
border regions. When uncertainties regarding the status of the waste reduce the export
possibilities, then this may easily lead to opting for another waste treatment option even if a
need and environmentally suitable absorption capacity for the compost or digestate exists
across the border (
38
). Harmonised end-of-waste criteria would promote investing in compost
and digestate production in such situations.
The lack of harmonisation also means that there is no system that ensures that the control of
compost and digestate flows across national borders is proportionate to the related
(
38
) Due to the relatively high costs of transporting the compost/digestate, the feasibility of a
composting/digestion plant critically depends on the existence of sufficient market capacity for its use within
a radius of not more than 50–100 km around the plant. If national borders within the EU work as barriers to
compost/digestate use, then composting/digestion facilities close to borders have an obvious ‘geometric’
handicap that works to the detriment of allowing an environmentally optimised waste management and
compost/digestate use.
79
environmental risks. Harmonised end-of-waste criteria could improve the management of
environmental risks under waste shipment rules by excluding low risk compost and digestate
from waste shipment controls, while making explicit that compost or digestate with higher risks
for the environment have to be considered waste. This would avoid unnecessary costs and
barriers in end-of-waste compost and digestate and ensure the necessary controls (prior written
notification and consent of shipment) in waste compost and digestate.
Generally, end-of-waste criteria would have the benefit of making more explicit when compost
and digestate have to be considered waste. This would consolidate the application of waste law
derived controls to non-compliant compost and strengthen environmental and health protection.
4.1.2.2 Avoid waste status if unnecessary
There are economic benefits, when the end-of-waste criteria prevent compost or digestate being
considered as waste when such a status is not necessary.
A direct economic benefit is that compliance costs are avoided. According to certain Member
State legislation, users of compost or digestate may need a permit for usage from the waste
management authorities. Compost or digestate not requiring a permit or an exemption under
waste law can be used at lower costs. The UK's Quality Protocol for compost, for example,
allows the use of compliant compost in England and Wales without having to pay an exemption
fee related to waste status. The avoided costs were estimated at more than GBP 2/tonne of
compost (The Composting Association, 2006) (
39
).
Another economic benefit can be obtained by avoiding potential users undervaluing compost or
digestate simply because it is unnecessarily labelled as waste. It has been reported that farmers
are hesitant to use compost as a soil improver if it is presented to them as a waste material
because the waste status makes them perceive compost as of low value, or even causing
adverse impacts to agriculture. In such cases, the waste status works as a stigma. Compost that
is not considered waste has a higher perceived value than otherwise identical waste compost. In
fact, it is likely that the agronomic value of compost is higher than the price paid for it when it
is waste (
40
). If higher prices are paid for end-of-waste compost, then a part of the benefits
obtained by the user is transferred back to compost producers and possibly, through reduced
gate fees, further to municipalities so that e.g. the costs of waste management are reduced, or
improvements in collection can be made.
A correctly perceived value of compost and digestate and reduced costs of compost use are
important factors to strengthen the demand for compost and digestate and in this way improve
the feasibility of the compost route of managing biodegradable wastes.
Examples such as Austria and the United Kingdom show that Member States can effectively
avoid the waste status of certain composts and digestates already within the current European
framework, but these rules are only valid within each of these Member States. There would,
(
39
) In Germany, composts do not cease to be waste before they have been used, but quality certified composts
are exempted from the most onerous obligations that a full waste status would imply for the users. Also this
reduces compliance costs for the use of compost.
(
40
) For instance, it was a reason for including end-of-waste criteria in the Austrian Compost Ordinance to avoid
that the value of compost is unduly underestimated because of unnecessary waste status.
80
however, be additional benefits of the European end-of-waste criteria by accelerating and
consolidating the establishment of compliant compost and digestate as a freely traded product
throughout the EU.
4.1.2.3 Promote product standardisation and quality assurance
Harmonising the end-of-waste criteria is also an opportunity to introduce widely recognised
product standards for compost and digestate and to promote quality assurance.
A high level of environmental protection can be achieved only if there is reliable and
comparable information on the environmentally relevant product properties. Claims made on
product properties must correspond closely to the ‘real’ properties, and the variability should be
within known limits. To manage compost and digestate so that environmental impacts and risks
are kept low, it must be possible for compost/digestate users and regulatory authorities to
interpret the declared product properties in the right way and to trust in conformity. Therefore,
standardisation of product parameters, sampling and testing is needed as well as quality
assurance.
End-of-waste criteria that demand the use of harmonised standards could be a decisive factor
for promoting the widespread use of harmonised standards throughout the EU. Harmonised
standards for compost/digestate property parameters, sampling and testing are, to a large extent,
already available to be used today, even if they are not yet fully adopted as European standards.
Where compost and digestate production and use are already well-established today, quality
assurance is a common practice. While quality assurance can also be developed by industry
alone, as a purely voluntary initiative, most of the successful compost quality assurance and
certification schemes have benefited, however, from some sort of quasi-statutory support by
regulations in Member States. By demanding quality assurance, the end-of-waste criteria would
promote quality assurance throughout the EU.
4.1.2.4 Promote higher compost and digestate quality
The end-of-waste criteria can promote higher compost and digestate quality standards by
including certain product quality requirements. Such requirements comprise limit values for
hazardous components (maximum concentrations allowed) and for properties adding value to
the product (e.g. minimum organic matter content). It is evident that high quality in this sense is
important for a good overall cost-benefit balance of compost use. If only high-quality composts
benefit from the cost reducing and demand enhancing effects of end-of-waste, they will become
preferable as an option compared to lower quality composts not only for compost users but also
for operators of compost plants and in strategic waste management decisions.
4.1.3 Conditions for end-of-waste criteria
This section discusses, one by one, what the conditions of end-of-waste criteria as defined in
Article 6 of the WFD mean in the case of compost and digestate and how end-of-waste criteria
need to be formulated so that compost or digestate only qualify when all four conditions are
met.
81
4.1.3.1 The substance has undergone a recovery operation
Compost and digestate are materials that are the result of a recovery operation according to
Article 3 (15) and Annex II R3 of the Waste Framework Directive. The recovery in this case
constitutes a material recovery, as the organic matter of the input biodegradable waste is
recovered and transformed into a material with more desirable properties with regard to
nutrient value, soil amendment potential, sanitation, etc.
4.1.3.2 The substance or object is commonly used for specific purposes
There are a number of specific purposes for which compost and digestate are commonly used.
The main use for compost and digestate is as a soil improver or an organic fertiliser in
agriculture. Compost is also incorporated as a component in growing media for use in
horticulture, landscaping and hobby gardening. Product specifications for using compost or
digestate for these purposes exist on national levels and, to some extent, also at European level
(eco-label criteria on soil improvers and growing media). Some compost is also used for land
restoration and as a landfill cover. The use of compost for these purposes is common in several
Member States of the EU. Digestate is almost completely applied in agriculture. The main
compost and digestate producing countries are also the main compost and digestate users. The
nine Member States with the biggest compost production (
41
) produce about 95 % of all
compost in the EU, whereas Germany is by far the largest digestate producer of the EU
accounting for nearly two thirds of all digestate produced. Depending on the purpose and the
specific situation, the use of compost and digestate is regulated at least in those Member States
where such use is common. For use on soil, and particularly in agriculture, there are usually
restrictions on the amounts of compost and digestate that may be used, often depending on the
heavy metal and nutrient contents of the material.
4.1.3.3 A market or demand exists for such a substance or object
Theoretically, there is a strong need for compost in the EU, especially as a soil improver to
work against the loss of organic matter from soil (erosion). The demand for digestate mainly
originates from its merits as an organic fertiliser. In practice today, the market for compost and
digestate is well established only in the part of the EU where compost/digestate production and
use is concentrated (see Section 4.1.3.2), and is not coincident with the regions of most erosion
or nutrient depletion. In other parts of the EU, the market is being developed in a proactive
manner, typically with government support. Finally, there are a number of countries in which
compost or digestate does not yet play any significant role.
Where compost and digestate are being produced, the market tends to be supply-driven and
prices for compost and digestate are sometimes close to or at zero. Even if globally there is
more than sufficient use for the compost and digestate produced, there may be local imbalances
of supply and demand.
Removing the waste status from compost/digestate that can be safely used for a specific
purpose is likely to strengthen the demand for such material and help avoid local oversupply.
To prevent the ultimate disposal of compost and digestate, the end-of-waste criteria must be
(
41
) In decreasing order of production: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria,
Spain, Denmark, Belgium.
82
demanding in terms of usefulness, ensuring a high value when used for a specific purpose. The
stricter the quality requirements in the end-of-waste criteria, the higher the price will be for
compost and digestate that meet them.
A compost or digestate should not cease to be waste if, in most places, it does not comply with
the applicable regulations and standards on the relevant specific compost/digestate uses,
because hardly any demand for the compost/digestate would exist in such a case.
Experience in countries where compost/digestate is commonly used today has shown that the
compost/digestate market works well when the quality of compost/digestate supplied is high
and reliable and the demand is proactively developed.
4.1.3.4 The substance or object fulfils the technical requirements for the specific
purposes and meets the existing legislation and standards applicable to
products
When compost or digestate is placed on the market, there must be at least one purpose for
which it can be used without requiring any further treatment. It will be up to the undertaking
that places the compost or digestate on the market to declare fitness for such use, referring to
the applicable legislation and standards. Market surveillance by Member State authorities will
also play a role.
The existing legislation and standards for using compost or digestate for the different purposes
vary between countries. It is reasonable that the specific conditions and rules for the application
of compost and digestate to soils (such as how much compost and of what quality may be used
on certain types of soil) are regulated at the level of Member States. Diversity in soil properties,
climates, land use practices, etc., throughout the EU is very high and there is a need for
regulations to be adapted to the specific conditions.
Furthermore, there does not seem to be a scientifically sound and generally acceptable way to
derive comprehensive, Europe-wide technical requirements for the use of compost and
digestate on land, which is the main outlet for these materials. This implies that the conditions
and rules for compost/digestate use cannot directly be part of the European end-of-waste
criteria for compost and digestate (
42
). The declaration of fitness for use will therefore have to
be adjusted to the national legislation and standards that are applicable in the place where the
compost or digestate will be used.
Only for some technical requirements that are of a general nature for all typical purposes of
compost or digestate use may minimum requirements be included directly in the end-of-waste
criteria at EU level. The purpose of such minimum requirements would be to generally exclude
composts/digestates from end-of-waste for which there is not use at all, except, maybe, in small
niche applications.
In any case, there is a need for harmonised technical standardisation of compost and digestate
quality parameters, sampling and testing across the EU, to avoid an artificial fragmentation of
(
42
) Concerning the use of compost in products such as growing media, EU-wide rules may be justified because
growing media are products traded freely on the internal market. This would primarily be a question of
regulating growing media, and would affect the end-of-waste criteria for compost only indirectly.
83
compost or digestate markets that is not justified by the real use requirements. The end-of-
waste criteria should, therefore, be based on common standardised quality parameters, as well
as common standardised testing and sampling. As complementary measures, it would be
important that Member States use the same harmonised standards in the relevant legislation on
compost and digestate use.
4.1.3.5 The use of the substance or object will not lead to overall adverse
environmental or human health impacts
There are various aspects to consider for avoiding overall adverse environmental or human
health impacts.
1. Compost or digestate use should not exert any stress on soil that may compromise the
multifunctional soil functions. Therefore, the transfer to soil of hazardous substances
through compost/digestate application needs to be limited. This is primarily a question
of rules on the use of compost/ digestate, which, as argued before, are best formulated at
national/regional levels. Composts/digestates should cease to be waste only if they
comply with the environmental and health regulations on compost use that apply to the
purpose for which they are placed on the market (see also condition c). As
complementary measures to the end-of-waste criteria, it would be important that
Member States, who have not already regulated the use of composts/digestates, put such
rules in place.
2. Compost/digestate should not pose any health risks because of macroscopic impurities
such as plastics, metals or glass. This can best be controlled by including limits on such
impurities as a quality requirement in the end-of-waste criteria.
3. The end-of-waste criteria should not lead to a relaxation of the strictness of quality for
compost/digestate. This could happen if the end-of-waste criteria included concentration
limits for hazardous substances that are less strict than the standards that determine the
quality of compost/digestate produced today. One may think that in this way more
compost/digestate could benefit from the advantages of EoW, which would promote
recycling. However, if the thresholds are less strict, then the overall adverse
environmental impacts can only be avoided by using less compost, which would work
against the aim of promoting recycling.
As part of the product quality requirements, maximum limits for a number of substances
will have to be introduced, striking a balance between ensuring environmental and
health protection, and providing the advantages of EoW to as much compost and
digestate flows as possible.
4. Lifting the waste status should not create any regulatory void that would impair the
management of environmental and health risks. The introduction of harmonised end-of-
waste criteria will require the authorities in Member States to reconsider the waste
status of composts and digestates. This will, in some cases, mean that certain
composts/digestates that used to be considered waste can be considered non-waste.
Such a change would mean that the legal and administrative controls available under
waste law do not apply any longer. If in a given Member State the legislative measures
for control of compost/digestate use are independent from the status of
84
compost/digestate as waste, they will not be affected by a change to EoW. Conversely,
if such measures are part of, or linked to waste law, they would be affected by a change
to EoW, for instance:
• Permits for the application of compost/digestate on land and for other compost uses
such as the preparation of growing media including compost;
• Inspection of compost/digestate users, collectors or transporters by the competent
waste authorities;
• Obligation of compost/digestate users to keep records of the quantity, nature and
origin of compost;
• Prior written notification and consent of shipment;
• Registration by the authorities of transporters, dealers and brokers of waste.
The logic of the end-of-waste criteria requires that only compost or digestate for which
waste law- based controls are not needed should qualify, either because the inherent
risks and impacts of the materials are sufficiently low, or because there are other
regulatory controls to deal with them independently of the status as waste. The use of
the compost/digestate under different conditions should be possible without any danger
to the environment and to health.
The inherent risks of the material are determined by the content of impurities and
pollutants (hazardous substances) as well as the hygienic properties of the compost or
digestate. The end-of-waste criteria can limit the environmental and health risks by
including certain product quality requirements regarding pollutants and impurities,
restrictions on the input materials used to produce the compost/digestate, and process
requirements to eliminate pathogens from the material.
As stated above, composts/digestates should cease to be waste only if they are placed on
the market for a purpose for which adequate rules on the use of compost/digestate
apply. As complementary measures, such rules should be established where they do not
yet exist. In several Member States, there are already soil protection and/or fertiliser
laws that regulate the use of compost/digestate independently of the waste status. Often
reference is made to good agricultural practices, or application recommendations for
compost/digestate are provided. Compost or digestate should not cease to be waste if it
does not meet the product quality requirements for the main use purposes or in most
places. This should be considered when determining the product quality requirements
(e.g. concentration limits on hazardous substances) for the end-of-waste criteria.
Private quality assurance schemes play an important role in risk management in a
number of countries, and sometimes are made quasi-compulsory (statutory) by
reference in the relevant legal (waste or other law) instruments.
Finally, there is also the possibility of introducing new complementary control instruments
especially designed for non-waste compost or digestate. As an example, new requirements for
ensuring the traceability of compost and digestate might be established independently of the
waste laws in certain markets where this is desirable. The key question for any new controls
introduced together with end-of-waste criteria is if these specific controls are better suited to
85
deal with the compost/digestate-specific risks than the general controls linked to the status as a
waste, considering that disproportionate new burdens need to be avoided. The inclusion of
additional administrative measures for EoW compost/digestate which waste compost/digestate
does not require may deter the uptake of EoW by producers.
4.2 Outline of EoW criteria
Following the JRC methodology guidelines
43
, it has been found that the following
complementary elements should be combined in a set of end-of-waste criteria:
1. Product quality requirements
2. Requirements on input materials
3. Requirements on treatment processes and techniques
4. Requirements on the provision of information
5. Requirements on quality assurance procedures
The array of possible end-of-waste criteria that could be part of a proposal are presented
individually below, with explanations that were partially derived from discussions held with the
technical working group in the 2008 case study on compost.
The possible criteria presented below have been discussed with the technical working group,
and have been adjusted and refined using the written inputs to the First Working document, and
the discussions of the Workshop of 2 March 2011.
4.3 Product quality requirements for compost and digestate
Product quality criteria are needed to check:
(1) For elements that can result in direct environmental and health risks, and
(2) That the product is suitable for direct use (on land, for production of growing media,
etc).
Product quality requires that compost or digestate is an adequate alternative to primary raw-
materials and that substances or properties limiting or jeopardizing its usefulness have been
effectively separated or eliminated. This refers to the usefulness both in the short term (one
season, one year) and in a long-term perspective that considers several years and the
progressive potential accumulation of harmful elements in soil.
Direct quality criteria on compost/digestate should include the following parameters:
(1) Quantitative minimum limits of elements providing a soil improvement/fertilising function,
such as organic matter content, or nutrient (N, P, K, Mg) content.
(2) Quantitative maximum limits on elements potentially toxic to human health or ecotoxic,
such as heavy metals, or persistent organic pollutants.
(3) Quantitative maximum limits on macroscopic foreign materials (e.g. glass, plastics, metals)
(
43
) End-of-waste documents from the JRC-IPTS are available from http://susproc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/activities/waste/. See in particular the operational
procedure guidelines of Figure 5 in the "End-of-Waste Criteria" report.
86
(4) Limited content of pathogens (if appropriate through quantitative maximum limits)
(5) Limited presence of viable weeds (if appropriate through quantitative maximum limits)
(6) Minimum stability (if appropriate through quantitative maximum limits, but this parameter
can also be controlled through other type of criteria such as a temperature-time profile, as part
of the processes and techniques requirements).
When the mentioned parameters need to be quantified, the criteria should include requirements
on how each of the parameters has to be tested. These testing requirements can be generic,
allowing a degree of freedom within a framework of minima, or if found appropriate, be
specific and refer to e.g. existing testing standards.
The different requirements that could be part of the product quality criteria were first identified
for compost in the pilot study (IPTS, 2008). They are maintained as a base for this document
following the support received from the Technical Working Group during the Stakeholder
consultation in December 2010 and the discussions at the first workshop in Seville (2 March
2011). It was also agreed that they can straightforwardly be extended to digestate. The
requirements are recalled below:
Criteria Explanations Reasons
Product quality
requirements:
(1) minimum organic
matter content
(2) minimum stability
(3) no content of
pathogens to an extent
that poses health risks
(measured by the
absence of certain
indicator organisms such
as salmonellae)
(4) limited content of
viable weeds and plant
propagules
(5) limited content of
macroscopic impurities
(6) limited content of
heavy metals and
persistent organic
compounds
One set of product quality
requirements shall be
developed and be valid for
most uses, as it is not the
role of the EU end-of-
waste criteria to regulate
specific uses.
The criteria shall ensure
that the quality of
compost/digestate is high,
as reflected in the existence
of a market and a demand
for the material, which
shall be fit for most uses.
Rules on compost/digestate
use for very specific
purposes and in specific
geographical areas may
demand even stricter
product quality
requirements than those
included in the end-of-
waste criteria, on the
grounds of environmental
protection, e.g. organic
farming, or use on soil
above water extraction
The product quality requirements
serve to exclude composts/digestates
from end-of-waste that:
o have a low quality and therefore
a too weak market demand
o do not fulfil the technical
requirements for the most
important use purposes, or that
in a dominating part of the
compost/digestate market do not
meet the existing legislation and
standards applicable to products
o are likely to have an overall
adverse environmental or human
health impact.
More specifically:
A minimum level of organic matter
content is needed to ensure value,
basic usefulness, as well as to
prevent dilution with inorganic
materials.
A minimum stability is needed to
avoid methane and odour emissions
during uncontrolled anaerobic
conditions after sales (e.g. during
storage).
87
Criteria Explanations Reasons
aquifers.
The development of stricter
requirements for such
specific uses is not within
the scope of end-of-waste
criteria.
Limitation of macroscopic
impurities is needed to ensure
usefulness and to limit the risks of
injuries.
Limitation of pollutant
concentrations is needed:
o to ensure that the material’s
inherent risks are sufficiently
low so that the environmental
impacts in the case of misuse are
within acceptable limits
o to exclude end-of-waste
composts/digestates that cannot
be used lawfully for the main
purposes in a dominant part of
the compost/digestate market
o to promote higher
compost/digestate quality and as
a signal against relaxing quality
targets for compost/digestate
production.
The proposal for the actual limits of the parameters to be regulated in the product quality
requirements, in the table below, is based on the compost pilot study (IPTS, 2008) with the
rationale for setting the values detailed in Annex 12 and following the two stakeholder
consultations in December 2010 and April 2011. The necessary adaptations for digestate have
been implemented as well.
The stakeholder survey of December 2010 yielded a number of alternative approach
suggestions for setting limit values, such as using the strictest values existing in a Member
State or setting more lenient values based on a risk assessment of metal uptake by crops.
Whereas many approaches hold certain merits, their value is limited by the fact that they
generally tend to focus on one specific end-of-waste condition, and are less relevant with
regard to other conditions. For example, introducing more lenient limits for heavy metal values
may still guarantee acceptable human health impacts, but risks to neglect ecological impacts or
can even lead to a collapse of the compost market due to a declined consumer confidence.
Conversely, setting stricter heavy metal limit values can provide a strong barrier against soil
pollution in sensitive areas. Yet at the same time, such strict limits may reduce the amounts of
compost/digestate that can reach EoW status and hence slow down market development and
recycling rates in the EU, whereas the same soil protection goals could be realized by national
regulations on the application of compost/digestate in such sensitive areas.
During the discussions at the first workshop on 2 March in Seville and following the
stakeholder consultation in April 2011, proposals were made for various minimum quality
requirements for compost and digestate.
Requirements that received large support for compost were:
88
• A minimum organic matter content. A minimum value of 15% on dry weight was
greatly supported, as the initially proposed value of 20 % from the First Working
Document was estimated to be too high. A minimum concentration of 15% is necessary
as a protection threshold against organic manufactured mineral soils, which may contain
high quantities of clayey materials. At the same time, it allows for materials with low
natural organic matter such as green compost or very mature compost.
• A minimum stability. A minimum stability can avoid transport and storage problems of
biologically active material due to further degradation. Furthermore, such a criterion
could help avoid that materials with relatively high concentrations of pollutants may
just pass the criteria. The latter is explained by the fact that when organic matter further
degrades the total mass of compost will decrease and hence the pollutant concentration
will increase with increasing maturity. At the same time, the necessity for a
standardized testing method was emphasized. One proposal was the self heating test for
compost according to prEN 16087-2:2010, in which case the result interpretation
remained unclear. Hence for compost, a concrete proposal is the oxygen uptake rate,
according to pr EN 16087-1:2010, with a maximum value of 15 mmol O
2
/kg organic
matter/hr.
• Pathogens: E. Coli and Salmonella were indicated as the most important pathogen
indicator organisms. There was large support for the criteria 1000 CFU/g fresh mass for
E. Coli and no Salmonella spp. in 50g of sample, which exist already in many national
specifications. Most stakeholders supported the idea of having a pathogen criterion
parallel to a criterion of a time-temperature profile.
• Viable weed seeds: there was large support for the criterion of maximum 2 viable weed
seeds per litre of compost.
• Macroscopic impurities: here it was proposed to modify the original proposal of
impurities (0.5% on dry matter base) into a more clear formulation of glass, metal and
plastics. Stones should not be seen as a man made contamination and do not pose an
environmental or health risk, and it appears to be more appropriate to regulate their
content through market mechanisms. Large support was received for 0.5% on dry
matter base for glass, metal and plastics > 2mm. A suggestion was made to introduce a
requirement on the absence of sharps, to avoid any injuries upon manipulating the
compost. Introducing the latter requirement may be hampered by the fact that a standard
measurement method does not exist at present, and that this could lead to liability issues
between producers and buyers of compost.
• Heavy metal values. There were both requests for increasing and lowering heavy metal
limit values from the initial proposal in the First Working Document. A number of
arguments were put forward, such as the fact that some metals are trace elements or that
EoW criteria should not limit the metal limits as it is the total metal load to the soil that
is important, i.e. the concentration times the compost amount applied. Control of the
applied compost quantity, however, falls outside the competences of end-of-waste
regulations and could easily lead to intentional or unintentional misuse. Overall, taking
into account the 4 basic conditions of the EoW status, a majority of responses
converged towards the initially proposed heavy metal values.
• Finally, a majority of stakeholders was not in favour of including organic pollutant
parameters as long as the input consisted of source separated materials, for the sake of
simplicity and cost-effectiveness of compost production, especially for small scale
compost producers. It was argued that if mixed solid waste, sewage sludge or possibly
contaminated input streams were to be allowed, strict criteria on organic pollutants
would need to be introduced.
89
During the stakeholder consultation, less feedback was received regarding digestate product
quality requirements. However, those stakeholders providing input on digestate generally had a
positive attitude towards setting EoW quality criteria for digestate, supporting existing
standards such as the UK PAS 110, Swedish SPCR 120 or German RAL GZ 245, or proposing
similar quality requirements.
In general, there was also a tendency to have EoW product quality criteria for digestate in line
with those for compost whenever possible. This should avoid that input streams that exhibit a
somewhat higher contamination would be transferred from one treatment option to another.
The following requirements received clear support for digestate:
• Minimum organic matter content: Generally, digestates are less likely to contain large
amounts of inorganic material due to the nature of the input materials used and there is
little tendency of mixing digestate with inorganic materials prior to use. In order to be in
line with the requirements for compost, a value of at least 15% on dry weight is
proposed.
• Minimum stability: Given that the anaerobic digestion process is intrinsically different
from the aerobic composting process, other post-process stability criteria are needed for
digestate than for compost. Criteria based on organic acid contents received most
support. A proposed value would be maximum 1500 mg organic acids (total) per litre
digestate. It must be noted, however, that no international standard seems to exist at
present for assessing this parameter.
• Pathogen control: Here the same values as for compost are clearly supported: 1000
CFU/g fresh mass for E. Coli and no Salmonella spp. in 50g of sample. Some
suggestions were made to test for Plasmodiophora brassicae, tomato seeds and
Salmonella Senftenberg W
775
.
• Viable weed seeds: Here as well support was received for the criterion of maximum 2
viable weed seeds per litre of digestate.
• Macroscopic impurities: In line with the compost requirement, it was proposed to split
the impurities in a glass, metal and plastics fraction and a stone fraction. General
support was also received for 0.5% on dry matter base for glass, metal and plastics >
2mm.
• Heavy metal values. Some stakeholders argued that certain heavy metal limit values
should be increased, in particular those for Cu and Zn, as these are considered to be
micronutrients necessary for plant growth and are encountered in relatively elevated
concentrations in digestate derived from manure as input material, originating from
cattle feed and hoof disinfection liquids. Nevertheless, increasing heavy metal limit
values in digestate could lead to the general use of more contaminated input materials
and should therefore be approached with caution. Hence, at present it is proposed to
have heavy metal values for digestate in line with those for compost.
In conclusion, this leads to following set of proposed criteria for compost and digestate
90
Parameter Value Comments
(1) Minimum organic
matter content:
15% on dry matter
weight
The minimum organic matter content of the final
product, after the composting/digestion phase and
prior to any mixing with other materials. This is
intended to prevent dilution of compost/digestate
with mineral components (e.g. sand, soil).
(2) minimum stability For compost:
15 mmol O
2
/kg
organic matter/hr
For digestate:
1500 mg organic
acids (total) per
litre digestate
The stakeholders agreed that this parameter shall
be limited by a method for which a standardized
test exist.
(3) no content of
pathogens
No Salmonella sp.
in 50 g sample
1000 CFU/g fresh
mass for E. Coli
Measurement of this parameter should be
complemented by a requirement on processing,
e.g. a temperature-time profile, based on
stakeholder input
(4) limited content of
viable weeds and
plant propagules
2 viable weed seeds
per litre of
compost/digestate
Measurement of this parameter should be
complemented by a requirement on processing,
e.g. a temperature-time profile, based on
stakeholder input
(5) limited content of
macroscopic
impurities
0.5% on dry matter
weight for glass,
metal and plastics >
2mm
There is a need to distinguish between natural
impurities such as stones and manmade
impurities.
(6) limited content of
heavy metals and
persistent organic
compounds:
mg/kg (dry weight)
In the final product, just after the
composting/digestion phase and prior to any
mixing with other materials
Zn 400
Cu 100
Ni 50
Cd 1.5
Pb 120
Hg 1
Cr 100
No requirement to
measure organic
pollutants
Measurement of organic pollutants is not deemed
necessary when applying a strict positive list of
input materials excluding sewage sludge, mixed
solid waste or possibly contaminated streams
Requirements on product testing for compost and digestate
Following stakeholder consultation, it appeared that only a minority of stakeholders was in
favour of imposing a detailed frequency scheme for the analysis of compost or digestate
samples in the frame of the End of Waste requirements. It is generally supported that the
91
measurement frequency should be established depending on the size of the compost or
digestate producing plant and be done in accordance with the regulatory authorities, allowing
for a reduction in measurement frequency for those parameters that repeatedly are far below the
limit values.
Regarding the testing methods to be used, there is large support for using EU-wide harmonized
standards, especially those developed in the CEN Horizontal Project, which were developed in
view of a wide range of materials, or those mentioned in the Quality Assurance Quality Manual
of the European Compost Network.
There is also clear agreement on the requirement for external, accredited and independent
sampling.
Requirements on product
testing (sampling and
analysis):
Compost and digestate
producers must
demonstrate by external
independent testing that
there is a sufficiently high
probability that any
consignment of
compost/digestate delivered
to a customer complies with
the minimum quality
requirements and is at least
as good as the properties
declared.
The details of the sampling
programme may be
adjusted to the concrete
situation of each
compost/digestate plant.
The competent authorities
will, however, have to check
compliance with the
following requirements:
• The compliance testing
has to be carried out
within external,
independent quality
assurance by
laboratories that are
accredited for that
purpose
• The CEN/Horizontal
standards for sampling
In the case of metal
concentrations, the
probability that the mean
value of the concentration in
a sample exceeds the legal
limit should be less than a
certain percentage (a
confidence level of 95 % is
typically used).
This implies that the mean
concentration of the whole
population of the
compost/digestate sold plus
the confidence interval needs
to be below the legal limit.
(Usually, it will be
impractical to sample from
the total population and a
subset of the overall
population that can be
considered typical of the
whole population will have to
be defined as part of the
quality assurance process.
Usually, the population will
correspond to all the
compost/digestate sold from
a composting plant
throughout a year or shorter
periods of time).
The scale of sampling needs
to be chosen depending on
the sales/dispatch structure of
a composting/digestion plant.
A high level of
environmental protection can
be achieved only if there is
reliable and comparable
information on the
environmentally relevant
product properties. Claims
made on product properties
must correspond closely to
the ‘real’ properties, and the
variability should be within
known limits. To manage
compost/digestate so that
environmental impacts and
risks are kept low, it must be
possible for
compost/digestate users and
regulatory authorities to
interpret the declared product
properties in the right way
and to trust in conformity.
Therefore, standardisation of
product parameters, sampling
and testing is needed as well
as quality assurance.
92
and analysis have to be
applied as far as
available. See Annex 13
for a list of standards
and sampling and
testing methods.
• Probabilistic sampling
should be chosen as the
sampling approach and
appropriate statistical
methods used in the
evaluation of the testing.
The scale should correspond
to the minimum quantity of
material below which
variations are judged to be
unimportant.
The better the precision of
the testing programme (the
narrower the confidence
interval), the closer the mean
concentrations may be
allowed to be to the legal
limit values. The costs of a
testing programme of
compost/digestate with very
good quality (parameter
values far from the limits)
can therefore be held lower
than for compost/digestate
with values that are closer to
the limit.
When a new
compost/digestate plant is
licensed there is usually an
initial phase of intensive
testing to achieve a basic
characterisation (for example
one year) of the
compost/digestate qualities
achieved. If this proves
satisfactory, the further
testing requirements are then
usually reduced.
4.4 Requirements on input materials
The purpose of criteria on input materials is to check indirectly the quality of the material.
Two main options exist, and were discussed with the technical working group. One option is
that the input material criteria allows most input sources, and only limits the materials in them
that pose a specific environmental, health or quality concern if not treated adequately, or limits
specific input sources. This is defined as the negative list approach. The second option is to list
in detail the types of input materials that are preferred because their origin ensures absence or
minimisation of risks, for instance a requirement that only garden and park waste from separate
collection were accepted for EoW. The latter is defined as the positive list approach.
93
A positive list approach bears the risk of letting aside suitable sources of biodegradable waste,
or sources which can become suitable as new technologies become available. Negative lists
bear the concern of not excluding all potentially unsuitable materials.
Following discussion during the first workshop in March 2011 and subsequent stakeholder
consultation in April 2011, it emerged that the vast majority of stakeholders supports the
application of a positive list to define input materials for compost.
Annex 9 is generally indicated as an acceptable standard list. However, remarks were made that
some waste codes are vague and need to be specified. Hence it should be stressed that the
description in the first column should be predominant when judging the suitability of a certain
input material, and the EWC code that is referred to in the 4
th
column only provides an
indication of the most suitable corresponding EWC definition.
It was also proposed that a mechanism should be put in place in order to allow for an update of
the positive list.
The following decisions seem to receive agreement for compost:
• Micelles from antibiotics production (1.4.02): can only be allowed if no antibiotics are
present
• Municipal waste: other fractions not otherwise specified (1.4.07): EXCLUDE
• Silage leachate water (1.4.09): include
• Off-speciation compost (1.4.15): include only if compost is derived from materials
coming from the positive list, so that it does not imply the content of any undesired
input material
• Liquor/leachate from a composting process (1.4.16): include only if material is coming
from same plant
• Liquor from anaerobic treatment of municipal waste (1.5.02): include only if anaerobic
treatment is using materials coming from the positive list
• Muncipal sewage sludge (3.01): EXCLUDE
• Municipal solid waste- not source separated (3.03): EXCLUDE
The following decisions seem to receive agreement for digestate:
• Micelles from antibiotics production (1.4.02): EXCLUDE (not relevant for anaerobic
digestion)
• Municipal waste: other fractions not otherwise specified (1.4.07): EXCLUDE
• Silage leachate water (1.4.09): include
• Off-speciation compost (1.4.15): EXCLUDE (not relevant for anaerobic digestion)
• Liquor/leachate from a composting process (1.4.16): include only if from same plant
• Liquor from anaerobic treatment of municipal waste (1.5.02): include only if anaerobic
treatment is using materials coming from the positive list
• Muncipal sewage sludge (3.01): EXCLUDE
• Municipal solid waste- not source separated (3.03): EXCLUDE
Moreover, there was large support to include manure (already in the list as item 2.2.07) and
renewable primary products such as energy crops for compost and digestate, as long as the
composting or digestion process is considered as a waste treatment operation. The rationale
behind this decision is that good quality materials containing primary products would otherwise
94
not be able to receive the product status and hence their continued waste status would hinder
them in the competition with End of Waste products. However, it must be emphasized that this
document does not consider materials that could be regarded as by-products of an industrial
process.
In general, stakeholders favour that it should be mentioned in large terms what the compost or
digestate is made of (e.g. green waste or biobin waste) without the need to detail every input
material present. For other types of compost or digestate that fall out of a certain general
category, any specific material present in a quantity of more than 5% of the initial weight
should be declared. Furthermore, it should be clearly indicated whether any animal by-products
are present in the produced material.
The stakeholders commonly agreed that additives should only serve to improve the composting
or digestion process, or improve environmental performance of the process. Certain metal
compounds for instance can improve the biogas formation in the digestion process.
Additives that are used to increase the usefulness or economical value of the product, such as
fertilizers, should be added after the product receives End of Waste status.
Changes that are proposed to the additives list (Item 4 in Annex 9) are:
• For compost, following additives should be added:
o Commercial inoculants for composting
o Bio-dynamic compost preparations
• For digestate, following additives should be added:
o Iron salts
o Iron oxides
o Iron hydroxides
o Magnesium salts
o Aluminium salts up to 0.1 % fresh matter
For dewatered digestate, organic polymers should be allowed to be in the product, as they are
needed for the mechanical dewatering operation. However, it should be clarified in more detail
what kind of polymers can be allowed or not (e.g. anionic or cationic polymers from a certain
monomer).
Furthermore, the stakeholders agreed that visual inspection of the input materials is the method
of control for compost indeed. In order to allow control of origin and type of material, it may be
desirable to only allow one certain kind of input material, rather than mixes. Regarding
digestate, it is mentioned that visual inspection of liquid input material may be difficult and
dangerous to workers. Such material may be transported in container trucks that only have
small openings for control or release of the material. As such, visual inspection may be
hampered by a lack of visibility or by the fact that toxic gases (e.g. H
2
S) escape upon opening
the sampling hatch. In this case, it is proposed that samples are taken of the input materials,
which should be stored and can be analyzed in case of doubts or issues with the quality of the
output material.
As long as a positive list is used, all input materials should be allowed without restrictions
according to the stakeholder feedback.
95
Criteria Explanations Reasons
Clean, biodegradable
wastes are the only wastes
allowed to be used as
input materials for the
production of end-of-
waste compost and
digestate.
Annex 9 lists
biodegradable wastes that
are currently regarded as
suitable for composting in
one or more Member
States.
Following amendments
are proposed:
Micelles from antibiotics
production (1.4.02): can
only be allowed if no
antibiotics are present
Municipal waste: other
fractions not otherwise
specified (1.4.07):
EXCLUDE
Off-speciation compost
(1.4.15): include only if
compost is derived from
materials coming from
the positive list; this item
is not relevant for
digestate
Liquor/leachate from a
composting process
(1.4.16): include only if
material is coming from
same plant
Liquor from anaerobic
treatment of municipal
waste (1.5.02): include
only if anaerobic
treatment is using
materials coming from
the positive list
Non-biodegradable
components that are
already associated with
biodegradable waste
streams at source,
should, however, be
allowed if they are not
dominant in quantity,
do not lead to
exceeding the pollutant
concentration limits
(see product quality
requirements) and do
not impair the
usefulness of the
compost/digestate.
Example: soil-like
material attached to
garden waste.
Composting and digestion is suitable as
treatment only for biodegradable
wastes.
Dilution of other wastes with
biodegradable waste needs to be
avoided.
96
Criteria Explanations Reasons
Muncipal sewage sludge
(3.01): EXCLUDE
Municipal solid waste- not
source separated (3.03):
EXCLUDE
Primary raw materials
should be allowed as well
as input materials as long
as the
composting/digestion
operation considers a
waste treatment process.
The input materials used
for the production of end-
of-waste
compost/digestate must be
known by the producer.
It shall be indicated on
the product what the
material is based on, in
large terms, using the
definitions
• Separately
collected biowaste
from households
• Garden and park
waste
• Agricultural waste
• Food industry
waste
• Other input
materials (any
specific material
present in a
quantity of more
than 5% of the
initial weight
should be
declared)
It should be indicated
The waste
classification of the
European Waste
Catalogue should be
used, ideally together
with additional
specifications, such as
in the waste list in
Annex 9.
Transparency on the input materials is
important for the confidence of users in
compost/digestate quality and can
therefore strengthen compost/digestate
demand.
The information on the input material is
needed to allow the use of
compost/digestate in compliance with
existing legislation.
For example, the Community
legislation of organic farming has
specific rules for the use of compost
from source-separated household waste.
The restriction of input to source
segregated material is considered
current best practice in compost
production. It has been demonstrated
that concentrations of the relevant
metals and of persistent organic
pollutants in these waste types are
robustly low enough for the production
of high-quality composts (IPTS, 2008)
If animal by-products were input,
compliance with the Animal By-
products Regulation (
44
) is required.
Furthermore, users, for instance
farmers, often wish to know the origins
(
44
) Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 laying
down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption
and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 1-33).
97
Criteria Explanations Reasons
whether any animal by-
products have been used
to produce the material.
and source materials of
compost/digestate.
Additives (material other
than biodegradable waste)
can only be used when
these are listed on the
positive list
Amendments proposed to
the additives list in Item 4
of Annex 9 are:
• For compost:
o Commercial
inoculants for
composting
o Bio-
dynamic
compost
preparations
• For digestate:
o Iron salts
o Iron oxides
o Iron
hydroxides
o Magnesium
salts
o Aluminium
salts up to 0.1
% fresh matter
o Organic
polymers used
for dewatering
in the case of
dewatered
digestate
Additives should only
serve to improve the
composting or
digestion process, or
improve
environmental
performance of the
process
Additives can be used as input to the
composting/digestion process in minor
quantities, if they improve the
compost/digestate quality or they have
a clear function in the
composting/digestion process and the
metal concentrations (based on dry
matter) do not exceed the concentration
limits for end-of-waste
compost/digestate.
In practice, additives are sometimes
needed to improve the
composting/digestion process or the
compost/digestate quality.
Suitable procedures for
controlling the quality of
input materials need to be
followed by the operators
of composting/digestion
plants.
Visual inspection is the
method of choice to
control input materials
It is agreed that in
many cases visual
inspection and
approval of origin will
be suitable procedures.
In order to facilitate
visual inspection,
mixes of input
materials in one
Controlling the input materials is a key
factor (probably the single most
important) for assuring reliable quality
of the compost or digestate.
Control of input covers also avoidance
of mixing with other wastes not listed
in the positive list.
98
Criteria Explanations Reasons
for compost and digestate.
When visual inspection
would entail health or
safety risks, as in the case
of liquid input materials,
visual inspection shall be
replaced by sample taking
and storage for possible
analysis.
See also section on criteria
regarding quality control
procedures.
delivery should be
banned.
Visual inspection of
liquid materials in
containers or bulk
trucks may be
dangerous due to the
escaping gases or
difficulties in
approaching the
material. In such cases,
samples should be
taken
4.5 Requirements on treatment processes and techniques
The purpose of introducing requirements on processes and techniques is to check indirectly
product quality.
Apart from biodegradable waste which is directly used before collection (e.g. home
composting), biodegradable waste is collected in varying quantities, processed and eventually
may become compost/digestate used on soil or other purposes. Biodegradable waste may need
sorting and removal of undesired components. Some very clean homogeneous sources may
need transport and simple shredding without contact to other waste fractions, before
composting/digestion, while others may need thorough sorting after collection.
Without pre-judging the point in the treatment chain where end-of-waste is reached, the
purpose of the introduction of process requirements is to define minimum treatment conditions
which are known to result in quality suitable for EoW in all cases. When reaching end-of-waste
status, the material must have undergone those minimum necessary treatment processes that
make it fit for marketing and use. The treatment processes must also ensure that transporting,
handling, storage (loose or packed), trading and using compost/digestate takes place without
increased environmental and health impact or risks.
The required treatment processes to achieve this differ depending on the waste streams from
which the compost/digestate has originally been obtained. The criteria on processes and
techniques can include:
basic general process requirements that apply to all types of waste inputs;
specific process requirements for specific types of waste inputs.
Generic requirements that do not prescribe a specific collection scheme, origin, type of operator
(municipal/private/local/global) or technology are preferred, since industry and authorities in
the biodegradable waste recycling chain should not be prevented from adjusting processes to
specific circumstances and from following innovation. However, restrictions may be justified if
it is proved that e.g. a given collection scheme or treatment systematically is not able to meet
the standards required by the quality criteria.
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From the stakeholder consultation, it emerged that nearly all stakeholders are in favour of
imposing both an indicator organism product quality criterion and a time-temperature profile as
they offer complementary advantages. Organism testing may e.g. reveal inferior mixing during
the process whereby only a certain part of the material was exposed to the correct time
temperature profile, leading to insufficient hygienisation. On the other hand, time temperature
profiles allow monitoring the hygienisation process in real time and hence allow to react
quickly in case of possible process irregularities that could lead to inferior hygienisation of the
compost batch.
For compost, the proposed time temperature profiles from the first working document were
generally supported, whereby following remarks were made:
• Animal by-products regulations should remain fully applicable for any material
containing animal by-products
• Member States should be allowed to grant authorization for other time-temperature
profiles after demonstration of their effectiveness for hygienisation.
• Mixing of the compost at regular time intervals should be done to ensure homogeneity
of the process and to make sure aerobic conditions prevail at all times, especially for
composts with considerable fractions of small particles.
For digestate, only a few time temperature profiles have been proposed upon stakeholder
consultation. A reasonable proposal was a time temperature profile of 55 °C during at least 24h
and a hydraulic retention time of at least 20 days, otherwise either the input materials or the
output material should receive an additional treatment step at 70 °C.
The following measures were proposed to avoid cross-contamination:
• Plants that produce End of Waste compost or digestate should only be allowed to
process approved materials from the positive list.
• In the case of using animal by-products, separate storage is required to avoid cross-
contamination with non animal by-product containing materials.
• The possibility of physical contact between input materials and final products must be
excluded.
The proposed criteria on treatment processes and techniques for compost and digestate
include:
Criteria Explanations Reasons
It must be demonstrated
for each compost/digestate
batch that a suitable
temperature-time profile
was followed during the
composting/digestion
process for all material
The desired risk control can
be achieved, avoiding being
overly descriptive, by
allowing a number of
alternative temperature-time
profiles from existing
standards or regulations. The
As is common in existing
regulations and standards,
there should be process
requirements to ensure that
the processes yield composts
and digestates without
hygienic risk.
(
45
) Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 laying
down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption
and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 1-33).
100
Criteria Explanations Reasons
contained in the batch.
Annex 10 lists temperature-
time profiles required by
the Animal By-products
Regulation (
45
) and national
legislation and standards
for composting plants.
Based on the list in Annex
10, a set of three allowable
time-temperature profiles
could be proposed for
materials subject to
composting and not
including and animal by-
products:
65 °C or more for at least 5
days
60 °C or more for at least 7
days
55 °C or more for at least
14 days
In the case of anaerobic
digestion for materials not
containing any animal by-
products, a time
temperature profile of 55
°C during at least 24h and a
hydraulic retention time of
at least 20 days should
ensure complete
hygienisation.
Member States should be
allowed to grant
authorization for other
time-temperature profiles
after demonstration of their
effectiveness for
hygienisation.
Animal by-products
regulations should remain
fully applicable for any
compost or digestate
material containing animal
by-products
producer must comply with
at least one profile that has
been approved as suitable for
the type of composting
process applied and is
specified in the
licence/permit by the
competent authority.
It must be ensured that all of
the material undergoes
appropriate conditions.
Depending on the process
type this may require, for
example, suitable turning,
oxygen supply, presence of
enough structural material,
homogenisation, etc.
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Criteria Explanations Reasons
In order to avoid cross-
contamination, following
measures should be
respected:
Plants that produce End of
Waste compost or digestate
should only be allowed to
process approved materials
from the positive list.
In the case of using animal
by-products, separate
storage is required to avoid
cross-contamination with
non animal by-product
containing materials.
The possibility of physical
contact between input
materials and final
products must be excluded.
Apart from ensuring correct
processing conditions during
composting/digestion, cross-
contamination needs to be
minimized.
Cross-contamination can
cause a carefully produced
material to pose quality
problems and/or
environmental or health
concerns.
4.6 Requirements on the provision of information
Requirements on the provision of information are a complementary element of end-of-waste
criteria. The criteria have to minimise any onerous administrative load, recognising when
current practice is competent in providing a valuable material for recycling, respecting existing
legislation, and protecting health and the environment.
The provided information should also demonstrate that compost or digestate is an adequate
alternative to primary raw-materials.
Not only could the provided information mention the actual levels of those parameters that are
bound by limits. The criteria could also require the declaration of additional parameters related
to the fitness of the material for use, such as content of alkaline effective matter, pH, grain size,
density, or water content.
When the mentioned parameters need to be quantified, the criteria would likely include
requirements on how each of the parameters has to be tested. These testing requirements can be
generic, allowing a degree of freedom within a framework of minima, or if found appropriate,
be specific and refer to e.g. existing testing standards.
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The formulation of end of waste criteria shall aim to be as simple as possible, for clarity, and
easier communication and implementation. In the pursue of this aim, the included parameters
shall be the minimum strictly necessary to fully characterise the completeness of treatment of
compost/digestate, while ensuring that the material is fit for a safe use in the different potential
outlets.
Following the stakeholder consultation, it emerged that the list of parameters to declare, as
proposed in the first working document, was generally supported. The list largely corresponds
to the list established in the ECN-QAS Quality Manual, with a few exceptions (e.g.
mineralisable nitrogen content), and which is already known to and supported by many
stakeholders.
For digestate, the same list received support, with just one modification. Given the more
pronounced use as a nutrient source, compared to compost, the sulphur content should be added
as well.
The different requirements that could be part of the criteria regarding provision of information
for compost and digestate are presented below:
Criteria Explanations Reasons
Declaration of the following parameters
(product properties) when placing
compost/digestate on the market:
Usefulness concerning soil improving
function:
• Organic matter content
Alkaline effective matter (CaO content)
Usefulness concerning fertilising
function:
Nutrient content (N, P, K, Mg) and also
S in the case of digestate
Mineralisable nitrogen content (NH4-
N, NO3-N)
Biological properties:
Stability/maturity
Plant response
Contents of germinable seeds and plant
promulgates
General material properties
Water or dry matter content
Bulk density/volume weight
Grain size
pH
Electrical conductivity (salinity)
Hygienic aspects relevant for
environmental and health protection
Presence of Salmonellae
Presence of E.coli
The parameters to be
included determine
the usefulness of
compost/digestate
and the
environmental and
health impacts and
risks of
compost/digestate
use.
Composts/digestates can be
used as a safe and useful
product only if the relevant
properties of the material are
known to the user and the
corresponding regulatory
authorities. This information
is needed to adapt the use to
the concrete application
requirements and local use
conditions as well as the
corresponding legal
regulations (e.g. the
provisions on soil protection
that apply to the areas where
the compost/digestate is
used). An adequate
declaration of the material
properties is therefore a
prerequisite for placing
compost/digestate on the
market and for the waste
status to be lifted.
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Pollutants and impurities relevant for
environmental and health protection
Contents of macroscopic impurities
(such as glass, metals, plastics)
Contents of some heavy metals and
persistent organic compounds
(See also details in Annex 11 and 12)
Labelling of compost and digestate may allow the consumer to judge about additional
properties of the material that cannot be defined through a limited set of product quality
criteria. It may also be a legal necessity in some cases, for instance to determine whether the
EoW compost is suitable for use in organic farming or eligible for the production of growing
media or soil improvers being rewarded with the Community eco-label.
The stakeholder consultation on this issue showed that many stakeholders indicated the need of
the issuance of the statement of conformity.
Furthermore, there appears to be agreement that it should contain following elements:
• The name and address of the compost/digestate producer
• Compost/digestate designation identifying the product by general type
• Batch code
• Quantity (to be expressed by preference in weight or otherwise in volume)
• The parameters to declare through labelling
• A statement indicating that End of Waste criteria are met
• Product declaration in line with national regulations in the Member State where the
material has been produced
• The conformity with national quality assurance requirements in the Member State
where the material has been produced
• The conformity with End of Waste requirements
• The recommended conditions of storage
• A description of the application areas for which the compost/digestate may be used and
any limitations on use
• Recommendations for the proper use
In addition to this, it was proposed to have a European-wide denomination for such materials,
which is protected and can only be used for compost/digestate receiving end-of-waste status,
although it is not clear how this can be justified by the 4 conditions for end-of-waste and how
this should be implemented in practice.
Furthermore, it was agreed that recommendations on use of the product are very useful.
However, distinction should be made between general recommendations and codes of good
agricultural practice, on the one hand, and references to regional, national or EU-wide specific
requirements, on the other hand.
Generally, the stakeholders argued that the aimed reduction of the administrative burden linked
to the product status could be jeopardized by imposing extreme traceability demands on the
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compost/digestate receiving End of Waste status. Hence, traceability should stop at the
producer stage, meaning that any direct buyer or user can trace back the compost/digestate to
the producer and there should not be any obligation for the producer to track the final use of the
compost/digestate.
The proposed criteria on requirements on the provision of information for compost and
digestate include:
Criteria Explanations Reasons
When placing compost or
digestate on the market, the
producer must declare the
following:
The name and address of
the compost/digestate
producer
Compost/digestate
designation identifying the
product by general type
Batch code
Quantity (in weight and/or
volume)
The obligatory parameter
values
A statement indicating that
End of Waste criteria are
met
Product declaration in line
with national regulations in
the Member State where
the material has been
produced
The conformity with
national quality assurance
requirements in the
Member State where the
material has been produced
The conformity with End
of Waste requirements
The recommended
conditions of storage
A description of the
application areas for which
the compost/digestate can
be used and any limitations
on use
Recommendations for the
proper use
A use of compost/digestate can
be considered as recognised
only if there are suitable
regulations or other rules in
place that ensure the protection
of health and of the
environment. The applicability
of such rules must not depend
on the waste status of the
compost.
It is a condition for end-of-
waste that the product
fulfils the technical
requirements for a specific
purpose and meets the
existing legislation and
good practice standards
applicable to products.
The producer could be
requested to identify the
legal norms that regulate
the use according to the
identified purposes in the
markets on which the
product is placed.
105
Criteria Explanations Reasons
The product should be
accompanied by
instructions on safe use and
application
recommendations.
The instructions should also
make reference to the need
of compliance with any
legal regulations,
standards, and good
practice applying to the
recommended uses.
For example, instructions and
recommendations may refer to
the maximum amounts and
recommended times, for
spreading on agricultural land.
Spreading and incorporation in
soil e.g. have to follow good
agricultural practice.
At the same time, national or
regional regulations may
impose additional
requirements, depending on
e.g. the local soil conditions.
Application instructions and
recommendations help to
avoid bad use of the
compost/digestate and the
associated environmental
and health risks and
impacts.
Reference to legal
requirements and standards
for use are intended to
support legal compliance by
the compost/digestate user.
These instructions shall not
be more burdensome than
those required for products
with the same function, e.g.
peat or fertilisers.
Traceability: The
information supplied to the
first buyer or user together
with the compost/digestate
should allow the
identification of the
producer of the
compost/digestate, the
batch and the input
materials used.
Member States may require
users to keep records of these
data for certain uses so that the
compost/digestate can be
traced back to the origin when
needed.
For the event of
environmental or health
problems that can
potentially be linked to the
use of compost/digestate,
there is a need to provide
traceability trails for any
investigations into the cause
of the problems.
4.7 Requirements on quality assurance procedures (quality
management)
Quality assurance is an element of end-of-waste criteria of importance because it is needed to
establish confidence in the end-of-waste status.
The acceptance control of input materials, the required processing and the assessment of
compliance with final quality requirements shall have been carried out according to good
industrial practice regarding quality control procedures.
In this context, quality assurance is needed to create confidence in the quality control on the
compost/digestate undertaken by its producer, and reliability on the end-of-waste criteria that
distinguish consignments meeting EoW criteria from consignments that have not applied for or
do not meet EoW criteria. The producer of the material applying the end-of-waste status will
have to have implemented and run a quality assurance system to be able to demonstrate
106
compliance with all the end-of-waste criteria, and use this as documentation when the material
is shipped.
Both in the qualitative and quantitative EoW criteria that refer to procedures and process
controls, it is considered essential that there is a quality management system in place which
explicitly covers the key areas of operation and the quality of the final products where
compliance with end-of-waste criteria has to be demonstrated.
One of the possible options to demonstrate compliance is having implemented and run an
internationally recognised and externally verified quality management system such as ISO
9001 or a quality assurance scheme respecting certain provisions like the one operated by the
European Compost Network. External verification is a compulsory element of these, and
should assess if the quality management system is effective and suitable for the purpose of
demonstrating compliance with the end-of-waste criteria.
A suitable quality management system for compost/digestate is expected to include:
acceptance control of input materials based on a positive list;
monitoring and record keeping of processes to ensure they are effective at all times;
procedures for monitoring product quality (including external sampling and analysis)
that are adjusted to the process and product specifics according to good practice;
periodical third-party surveillance with quality control of compost/digestate analyses
and on-site inspection of the composting/digestion plant inlcusive inspection of records and the
plants' documentation
plant certification for declaration and labelling of input materials, the product
characteristics, the product type and the producer;
information on conformity with national regulations, quality assurance and EoW
standards and requirements of the competent authority
measures for review and improvement of the plant's quality management system;
training of staff.
For the competent waste authority, it must be able to commission an independent second party
audit of the implemented quality management system to satisfy itself that the system is suitable
for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with end-of-waste criteria.
In respect of the frequency of monitoring, the appropriate frequency for each parameter should
be established by consideration of the following factors (see also section on product quality
testing):
the pattern of variability, e.g. as shown by historical results;
the inherent risk of variability in the quality of waste used as input to the recovery
operation and any subsequent processing;
the inherent precision of the method used to monitor the parameter; and
the proximity of actual results to the limit of compliance with the relevant end-of-waste
condition.
Frequency of monitoring includes the number of times a parameter is monitored over any given
time period depending on the plant treatment capacity so that it is a representative sample of the
total. In the absence of historical results for any relevant parameter, it is good monitoring
practice to carry out an intensive monitoring campaign over a limited period (e.g. less than 12
107
months) in order to characterise the material stream, thereby considering seasonal variations in
composition. The results from this initial monitoring campaign should thus provide a basis for
determining an appropriate longer term monitoring frequency.
The result of the monitoring frequency determination should subsequently provide a stated
statistical confidence (often 95% confidence level is used) in the ultimate set of monitoring
results. The process of determining monitoring frequencies should be documented as part of the
overall quality assurance scheme and as such should be available for auditing. The detail on
the verification, auditing or inspection of the quality assurance scheme can follow different
national approaches.
Following stakeholder consultation, it was revealed that for compost the stakeholders generally
supported the ECN-QAS system as the quality management system. For digestate, such a
system is currently under development by the European Compost Network and stakeholders
generally referred to national systems being set-up in some Member States.
It is generally proposed that sampling frequency should not be described by End of Waste
regulations, but be part of the quality assurance scheme of the producing plants.
Stakeholders agree that independent bodies should verify the quality management system for
producers of End of Waste compost/digestate.
The proposed requirements on quality management for compost and digestate are the
following:
Criteria Explanations Reasons
Compost/digestate
producers are required to
operate a quality
management system in
compliance with quality
assurance standards that
are recognised as suitable
for compost/digestate
production by Member
States or the Community.
It should include following
elements:
acceptance control
of input materials based on
a positive list;
monitoring and
record keeping of processes
to ensure they are effective
at all times;
procedures for
monitoring product quality
Recognised quality assurance
standards for compost and
digestate are set out, for
example, in the British
publicly available
specification BSI PAS 100
(Compost) and 110
(Digestate), and the German
BGK’s RAL quality
assurance system.
Besides the national
standards, the European
Compost Network has
established a quality
management system for
compost, which is widely
supported. Furthermore, it is
currently developing a
similar system for digestates.
Users and the authorities that
are in charge of controlling
the use of the compost need
to have reliable quality
guarantees. Trust in the
quality of the material is a
precondition for a sustained
market demand. The actual
product properties must
correspond well to what is
declared and it must be
guaranteed that the material
minimum quality
requirements as well as the
requirements concerning the
input materials and processes
are actually met when a
product is placed on the
market.
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Criteria Explanations Reasons
(including external
sampling and analysis) that
are adjusted to the process
and product specifics
according to good practice;
periodical third-
party surveillance with
quality control of
compost/digestate analyses
and on-site inspection of the
composting/digestion plant
inlcusive inspection of
records and the plants'
documentation
plant certification
for declaration and
labelling of input materials,
the product characteristics,
the product type and the
producer;
information on
conformity with national
regulations, quality
assurance and EoW
standards and
requirements of the
competent authority
measures for review
and improvement of the
plant's quality management
system;
training of staff
The quality assurance
system is audited externally
by the competent
authorities or by quality
assurance organisations
acknowledged by Member
State authorities.
The reliability of product
quality will be acceptable
only if the quality assurance
systems are audited by the
authorities or an officially
acknowledged third-party
organisation.
109
4.8 Application of end-of-waste criteria
For the application of end-of-waste criteria laid out above it is understood that a consignment
of compost/digestate ceases to be waste when the producer certifies that all of the end-of-waste
criteria have been met.
It is understood that compost/digestate that has ceased to be waste can become waste again if it
is discarded and not used for the intended purpose, and therefore fall again under waste law.
This interpretation does not need be specifically stated in the EoW criteria, as it applies by
default.
It is proposed that the application to EoW from a producer or importer refers to a statement of
conformity, which the producer or the importer shall issue for each consignment of
compost/digestate.
The producer shall transmit the statement of conformity to the next holder of the consignment.
They shall retain a copy of the statement of conformity for a period of time to be defined (e.g.
at least one year after its date of issue) and shall make it available to competent authorities
upon request. The statement of conformity may be issued as an electronic document.
Following consultation, it emerged that the majority of stakeholders is not in favour of a
demand that End of Waste compost or digestate loses its End of Waste status when it is not put
on the market. There may be legitimate reasons for which these products are not put on the
market, such as direct use of the product by the producer (e.g. in the case of on-farm
composting whereby the produced compost is used on the own fields). Producers of compost or
digestate using their own materials might still want to apply for End of Waste status in this
case, as it demonstrates the quality of their process and material.
It was proposed to allow End of Waste status to materials that have fulfilled all criteria but are
temporarily stored. However, the problem with the latter approach is that compost/digestate
may undergo (biological) changes during medium to long term storage at the producer, or risks
to be contaminated by other material. Hence the End of Waste status should only be granted
upon transfer to the buyer or at the instant of use by the producer, given that all the criteria are
met at that moment.
Furthermore, the initial proposal from the first working document of having to inform national
authorities did not receive positive acclaim as it is feared that such obligation may lead to
jeopardizing the advantages of the product status compared to the waste status. Strict End of
Waste criteria should be the safeguard for environmental protection and the responsibility of
the producer should end at the gate.
Hence, the proposed elements for the application of end-of-waste criteria for compost and
digestate become the following:
Criteria Explanations Reasons
Compost/digestate ceases to
be waste, provided all other
The end-of-waste criteria are
defined so that compliant
110
Criteria Explanations Reasons
end-of-waste criteria are
fulfilled, when used by the
producer or upon its
transfer from the producer
to the next holder.
However, if there is no final
lawful use,
compost/digestate will be
considered waste.
compost/digestate can be
stored and traded freely as a
product once it is placed on
the market by the producer.
The benefits of the end-of-
waste criteria are made actual
if compost/digestate users are
not bound by waste
legislation (this means, for
example, that farmers or
landscapers using compliant
compost/digestate do not
require waste permits nor do
formulators of growing
media that use
compost/digestate as a
component). Users have,
however, the obligation to
use the product according to
purpose and to comply with
the other existing legislation
and standards applicable to
compost.
If the compost/digestate is
mixed/blended with other
material before being
placed on the market, the
product quality criteria
apply to the
compost/digestate before
mixing/blending.
Meeting the limit values
relevant for product quality
by means of dilution with
other materials should not be
allowed.
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5 Description of impacts
The establishment of end-of-waste criteria is expected to support recycling markets by creating
legal certainty and a level playing field, as well as removing unnecessary administrative
burden. This section outlines keys impact issues of the implementation of end of waste criteria
on the environment, markets, and the application of existing legislation.
The impacts depend on how exactly end of waste criteria are formulated. However, as only a
draft set of criteria is available at this stage, pending the outcome of discussions with the
Technical Working Group, the impacts have been outlined based on the information found
and/or provided by the experts so far, and have not yet been analysed in detail.
The completion of this section in detail will be undertaken on a more mature set of criteria,
which is expected after the discussions with the Technical Working Group at the workshop of
24 and 25 October 2011. In the paragraphs below, the main elements to be addressed in the
impact assessment are outlined, indicating the type of data needed.
5.1 Environmental and health impact
5.1.1 Climate change impacts of methane and other greenhouse gas
emissions during the composting or digestion process,
pretreatment and storage
Chapter 2.8 concluded that there were three main groups of environmental and health issues
related to composting and digestion that needed to be managed:
1. Climate change impacts of methane emissions during the composting and digestion process,
pre-treatment and storage
2. Local health and environmental impacts and risks at, and close to, the composting or
digestion facility (linked to odour, gas emissions, leachate and pathogens in bioaerosols)
3. Soil, environment and health protection when using compost/digestate, especially when
applying the material to land
The proposed end of waste criteria affect the first two groups only indirectly because they do
not imply any change of the legal situation during composting or digestion.
46
Composting and
digestion always has to be considered a waste treatment activity and as such is covered by
waste regulatory controls.
46
The only exception is methane emissions during storage of immature compost after sales. End of waste criteria
in principle reduce the legal base on which the issue can be addressed. However, compared to the current situation,
the proposed end of waste criteria would not make any significant difference, because methane emissions during
storage of compost hardly receive attention by regulatory authorities today. In any case, if the issue were
considered as crucial, a straightforward solution would be to include a minimum compost maturity/stability
requirement in the end of waste criteria.
112
As an indirect effect of end of waste criteria, there is a good chance that the requirement to
operate a quality management system will have a positive effect also on the management of the
process related environmental impacts. Furthermore, if end of waste criteria induce changes in
composting and digestion capacities and the amount of compost and digestate produced, this
will also affect the compost production related environmental impacts, and those of the
alternative waste treatment activities.
The exact size of these indirect effects, and their overall balance (positive or negative) can
hardly be measured. In any case, the indirect effects of end of waste will not be decisive factors
for the environmental impacts from composting or digestion facilities. A much more important
legal development in this respect is the coverage of composting and digestion plants in the
Industrial Emissions Directive (
47
). Composting plants with a capacity of more than 75 tonnes
per day are covered in this directive, as well as anaerobic digestion plants with a capacity of at
least 100 tonnes per day.
The third group of environmental and health impacts, however, are affected directly by end of
waste criteria because end of waste criteria will alter in most cases the regulatory controls
applicable to compost use and are also very likely to affect the quality of compost produced and
used.
The proposed end of waste criteria have been designed in a way that rules out intolerable
impact and risks to human health and the environment in absolute terms. The criteria include
minimum compost and digestate quality requirements regarding sanitation, impurities and
contents of hazardous substances. Furthermore, they stipulate that compost and digestate may
cease to be waste only if placed on the market for purposes for which suitable regulation on
compost use is in place to ensure environmental and health protection. There is, however, the
possibility of relative changes of environmental impacts when comparing a "no action"
scenario with a scenario where the proposed end of waste criteria are applied. As such, it
should not be investigated what is the potential adverse environmental impact of the use of
compost or digestate, but what is the impact of moving compost or digestate from a waste
status to a product status and the different legislation it becomes submitted to.
Such relative changes, i.e. the marginal environmental impact, are assessed in this chapter.
Average contents of hazardous substances in compost and digestate
Hazardous substance concentration is a useful proxy indicator for the potential overall
environmental impact of compost and digestate use because more benefit can be obtained from
compost and digestate used at the same potential of negative toxicological and ecotoxicolgical
impacts when concentrations of hazardous substances are reduced.
The overall environmental impact of compost and digestate use is determined by the balance of
specific positive and negative impacts. The soil improving function of compost, for instance,
has positive environmental impacts, such as reduced soil erosion and improved water retention.
The main negative aspects are the potential toxicological and eco-toxicological impacts due to
the contents of hazardous substances (mainly heavy metals and organic pollutants). A
quantitative comparison of the positive and negative impacts of compost and digestate use in
(
47
) Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial
emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334 17.12.2010, p. 17)
113
the different scenarios (with and without end of waste criteria) is not practicable. However, it
can be assessed if end of waste criteria are likely to lead to a change of the average
concentrations of hazardous substances in compost and digestate used and produced in a
country.
Referring to Table 9 in Annex 12, it can be seen that in most countries the end of waste criteria
would introduce new quality standards for compost production that are stricter than the current
lead standards. The same goes for the standards with regard to digestate. This is expected to
lead to a reduced average concentration of hazardous substances, in particular heavy metals, in
compost. An effective relaxation of the lead quality standards regarding the allowed
concentrations of hazardous substances would only occur in the Netherlands. This might
theoretically open the door for tolerating higher hazardous substance concentrations in compost
production for exports. Since quantitative restrictions of compost use in the Netherlands are set
by fertiliser law and independent of the waste status, end of waste criteria should however not
alter the contents of hazardous substances of compost used in the Netherlands. A similar
scenario is valid for Denmark, where current levels are set at 0.8 mg/kg for Cd and Hg, which
are stricter than the EU ecolabel limits.
Hazardous substance flows to soil
A second way to compare the environmental impact of compost or digestate use with and
without end of waste criteria, is to look at the size of the hazardous substance flows to soil
associated with compost and digestate use. Hazardous substance flows are an indicator of the
size of the potential ecotoxicologial and toxicological impacts of compost and digestate use.
They are determined by the combined effect of changes in concentrations and of amounts of
compost or digestate used.
While, as argued above, average concentrations are likely to decrease, it is more difficult to
foresee how the total amount of compost and digestate used (both compliant and non-compliant
with end of waste criteria) would be affected by end of waste criteria. An overall conclusion on
the combined effect on hazardous substance flows is therefore not possible. It is likely,
however, that there will be increased hazardous substance flows at certain locations where the
quality of compost and digestate used is approximately the same with and without end of waste
criteria and more compost and digestate will be used due to increased availability. However,
since the end of waste criteria include minimum compost and digestate quality requirements
and demand that there must be suitable locally applicable use rules, it can be expected that the
overall environmental balance of increased compost and digestate use is still positive.
Risks related to misuse of compost or digestate
A third aspect to assess are the risks of environmental impacts (likeliness and size) because of
compost or digestate misuse (not for recognised purpose or not complying with quantitative use
restrictions). These risks may change when end of waste criteria lead to a new market situation
(alterations in compost and digestate supply and demand) and affect the regulatory controls
applicable to compost and digestate trade and use.
Locally, there may be increased risks related to compost and digestate misuse if end of waste
criteria lead to new situations of oversupply, because of facilitated imports, that the market
cannot handle efficiently. This theoretical possibility appears most relevant close to the main
114
compost and digestate producing countries and where little experience exists yet with compost
use. However, the heavy metal limits of end of waste criteria are set at a level that keeps any
potential environmental impacts low even in the case of misuse. As a complementary measure
to end of waste criteria it may be indicated that some countries put means in place for the
monitoring of compost and digestate flows (e.g. registration and analysis of data of compost
placed on the market) in order to detect and manage possible situations of oversupply.
Conclusion
Altogether, the overall environmental impact of compost and digestate use in the end of waste
scenario is expected to be more positive or at least neutral than in the "no action" scenario, both
at the EU level and at the level of individual Member States. There is the theoretical possibility
of a locally less favourable balance at certain places but there are proportionate accompanying
measures to detect and counter any undesired developments.
The existence and enforcement of adequate compost and digestate use rules is an important
factor supporting the positive environmental balance of end of waste criteria, especially in
countries where composting and/or digestion is not a common practice today.
5.2 Economic impact
Costs of compost and digestate production
The main potential cost factor of end-of-waste criteria for compost and digestate production is
quality assurance in the case of composting or digestion plants where an upgrading of quality
assurance is required. ORBIT/ECN (2008) produced an overview of quality assurance costs
according to the main schemes in place in various countries for compost. Table 9 shows that
the quality assurance costs are mainly determined by the size of the composting plant and range
from below EUR 0.08/tonne of input to more than EUR 3/tonne of input. The costs measured
per tonne of compost produced are about double these values. The quality assurance costs in
Table 9 reflect the external expenses in the renewal procedure of certificates or quality labels
during the continuous operation of the plants. In the first application and validation period (first
one to two years) costs are considerably higher on account of a first evaluation of the plants and
the higher frequency of tests. Additional costs are incurred through the internal staff
requirements for operating the quality management system.
The total compost production costs in a best practice composting plant with 20 000 tonnes
capacity were estimated at EUR 45/tonne of input (Eunomia, 2002). A comparison with the
average quality assurance costs for a plant of this size according to Table 9 shows that the
external quality assurance costs represent less than 1 % of total costs.
For open-air windrow composting the cost can be less than EUR 20/tonne. In this type of plant
the throughput is usually much smaller and, in the case of 500 tonnes/year, quality assurance
can make up more than 15 % of total costs.
Although for digestion, no specific cost information was received with regard to the quality
assurance system, it can be reasonably assumed that the costs will be in the same order of
magnitude as for composting, given that the same processes are followed and that analyses also
cover similar parameters. Compared to the production cost of digestate (30 to 80 Euro/tonne),
115
the weight of the quality assurance in the total production cost for digestion is similar to the one
for compost.
However, many composting and digestion plants have already suitable quality assurance
systems in place (at least one fifth of all composting plants in the EU), and most others
regularly carry out some form of compliance testing, so that not all of the quality assurance
costs associated with end-of-waste would be additive.
Table 9: Cost of compost quality assurance in selected European
countries. Source: ORBIT/ECN (2008).
Quality assurance costs/tonne input and year (EUR excluding VAT)
Throughput/
year (tonnes)
AT (
1
)
(ARGE)
Agriculture
plants
AT (
2
)
(KGVÖ)
Industrial
plants
DE (
3
)
(BGK
)
IT (
4
)
(CIC)
NL (
5
)
(BVOR
)
(Green
C.
plants)
NL (
6
)
(VA)
(VFG
plants
)
SE (
7
)
(SP)
UK (
8
)
(TCA)
Use in
agriculture/
horticultur
e
UK (
9
)
(TCA)
Other
uses
EU
Mean
value
500 2.15 3.36 — — — — — — — —
1 000 0.94 1.80 — — — — — — — —
2 000 0.97 1.32 0.82 — 1.62 1.99 1.21 1.13 1.10 1.26
5 000 0.63 0.67 0.52 0.48 0.76 0.80 0.48 0.45 0.44 0.59
10 000 0.44 0.58 0.34 0.46 0.53 0.40 0.29 0.28 0.27 0.42
20 000 0.26 0.44 0.31 0.45 0.39 0.20 0.15 0.23 0.22 0.32
50 000 0.17 0.36 0.19 0.43 0.21 0.08 0.06 0.20 0.19 0.23
Sources: Personal information from:
(
1
) KGVÖ Compost Quality Society of Austria — operates mainly biowaste treatment plants. Costs include membership fees, laboratory costs
and external sampling.
(
2
) ARGE Compost & Biogas Association Austria — decentralised composting of separately collected biowaste in cooperation with
agriculture. Costs include membership fees, laboratory costs and external sampling.
(
3
) BGK German Compost Quality Assurance Organisation. Costs include membership fees, laboratory costs and external sampling.
(
4
) CIC Italian Compost Association CIC — including company fee according to turnover plus external sampling and laboratory costs
(
5
) BVOR Dutch Association of Compost Plants — costs at green waste plants which include membership fees, laboratory costs and the costs
for yearly audits by external organisations — no external sampling.
(
6
) VA Dutch Waste Management Association — costs at biowaste (VFG) plants including membership fees, laboratory and external
sampling costs, and the costs for yearly audits by external organisations. The expenses are slightly higher compared to BVOR because of
additional analysis of sanitisation parameter and the external sampling.
(
7
) SP Swedish Standardisation Institute execute the QAS scheme — costs include membership fees, laboratory costs, and costs for yearly
audits by SP — sampling is done by the plants besides the yearly audit.
(
8
) TCA the UK Compost Association certification for compost in agriculture and horticulture — total costs associated with certification
scheme fees for all parameter and lab testing. Costs associated with testing the compost are higher compared to other application areas, as
the compost producer is required to test parameters like total nutrients, water soluble nutrients and pH in addition sampling is done by the
plants. For compost used in agriculture and field horticulture, the UK Quality Compost Protocol has introduced for the land
manager/farmer the requirement to test the soil to which compost is applied. The costs associated with soil testing are not incorporated
here because it is mostly not the compost producer, but the farmer or land manager who pays for.
(
9
) TCA the UK Compost Association certification for compost used outside agriculture and horticulture — total costs associated with
certification scheme fees and lab testing. Sampling is done by the plants.
Cost of compost and digestate use
Users of end-of-waste compost and digestate need not comply with waste regulatory controls.
Other legal obligations, for example based on fertiliser or soil protection law, are independent
of waste status. There is also the possibility of new regulatory obligations being introduced as
accompanying measures to end-of-waste criteria. The net difference of the cost of compost or
116
digestate use in an ‘end-of-waste scenario’ compared to a ‘no action scenario’ depends
therefore on the specific legal situation in each country and may even be different between
regions of one country. It was not possible to get a full picture of compliance costs of compost
use within the scope of this case study. However, the case of the compost quality protocol in
the United Kingdom can serve as an example. The Composting Association (2006) estimated
that for agricultural use of compost under the quality protocol (equivalent to end-of-waste) the
agricultural compliance costs are reduced by EUR 1.69 (GBP 1.29 (
48
))/tonne of compost.
Benefits
Where end-of-waste criteria lead to an upgraded quality assurance it can, in principle, be
expected that the compost or digestate will be of improved quality, rendering additional
benefits to users, for instance agronomic benefits in the case of agricultural use. The size of
these benefits, however, cannot be reasonably quantified within this study.
Overall assessment
Where quality certified compost or digestate is used today under waste regulatory controls,
end-of-waste criteria are likely to lead to a net cost reduction. The cost reductions accrue in the
use sector, and may possibly be transferred back to some extent, through the acceptance of
increased compost and digestate prices, to compost and digestate producers, and through
reduced gate fees to municipalities or other relevant waste generators.
Where the quality certification of compost and digestate needs to be upgraded for complying
with end-of-waste criteria, this creates increased costs for compost and digestate producers,
which are not likely to be very significant in relative terms for large scale compost and
digestate production, but may make up to 10 % of total costs in the case of very small-scale
production. This may be compensated, at least partly, by increased revenues through higher
prices in compost and digestate sale, if users accept that there is a sufficiently high benefit to
them in terms of avoided compliance costs and better and more reliable product quality.
5.3 Market impact
The main direct impact to be expected from end-of-waste criteria is a strengthened market
demand for compost and digestate through:
• Export facilitation for compost/digestate
• Product quality evolution by improved perception by potential users
• Avoidance of compliance costs for compost/digestate use.
• Investment decisions for new biodegradable waste treatment plants
Facilitated exports are especially relevant in areas where the compost or digestate market is
saturated because of use restrictions due to strong supply of competing materials for soil
spreading, especially manure. According to ORBIT/ECN (2008), shortage in national demand
because of competition of other cheap organic material (mainly manure) was the main reason
for compost exports in the cases of Belgium and the Netherlands. The Netherlands, for
instance, combine a very high population density, one of the highest separate collection rates of
(
48
) 1 March 2008 exchange rate.
117
kitchen and garden waste (ca 190 kg/inhabitant/y), a very large excess of animal manure on the
one hand and a very restrictive nutrient/fertilising legislation on the other. Even if theoretically
there could still be enough market potential for compost in the Netherlands, prices achieved for
compost are low, often even negative, and the Dutch composting industry has already exported
considerable amounts of compost under current framework conditions. On average 4.5 % of the
annual compost production in Belgium and the Netherlands was exported in 2005 and 2006.
Today, however, there is a shortage again of compost in the Netherlands, as fierce competition
with manure is no longer an issue, according to the Dutch Environmental Ministry.
Dutch exports to Germany required the participation of Dutch composting plants in the German
compost quality certification scheme and bilateral agreement with German Länder
governments. Currently, Belgian exports to France need to demonstrate both compliance with
the Belgian VLACO standard and the French NFU 44051 standard (analysis and certification
by French laboratories). It is expected that export possibilities could more easily be developed
with European end-of-waste criteria.
The strengthening of domestic compost markets is especially relevant in countries where
composting and digestion is only incipient at the moment. By setting EU-wide quality
standards for compost and digestate that ensure good and reliable product quality of compliant
compost and digestate, end-of-waste criteria, together with accompanying measures to define
the conditions for compost and digestate use, may give a boost to compost and digestate
markets in these countries.
Avoiding compliance costs for compost and digestate use if waste regulatory controls are not
required, is also a factor that favours the compost and digestate market demand. This has been
an advantage, for instance, considered in the development of the compost quality protocol in
the United Kingdom.
For compost and digestate materials that do not meet end-of-waste criteria it will be
increasingly difficult to find market outlets, because their use will require waste regulatory
compliance and they will be clearly differentiated as of lower quality. Distinction can be made
between two different situations in this case:
a) The compost or digestate material is likely to be upgradable to receive end of waste status.
In some cases, efforts to improve quality management and product quality may be needed in
order to succeed in meeting the requirement. The key factor will often be to obtain purer input
materials, which will often require measures to introduce, expand or improve the effectiveness
of source segregation of biological wastes. Other issues may be linked to process conditions
that might need to be changed to meet the hygienisation requirements. Necessary additional
investments to reach the end of waste status may be recovered by the producer through higher
revenue from the end of waste materials, compared to continue producing waste materials.
b) The compost or digestate material is not likely to be upgradable to receive end of waste
In other cases, it might be more difficult or even impossible to obtain end of waste status for
compost or digestate materials without a thorough revision of the process scheme. This may be
due to the fact that a certain input material, currently used in large quantities, is banned from
the positive list (e.g. sewage sludge). In other cases, the whole process may be set up around a
certain input material that is no longer allowed (e.g. mixed municipal solid waste). It can even
occur that certain compost or digestate materials that currently enjoy product status in national
legislation, may no longer be eligible for product status and receive waste status. In this case,
118
the economics of composting and digestion will deteriorate (lower, i.e. often negative, compost
or digestate prices), compost or digestate production may be abandoned and plants may have to
find new outlets for their material, such as landfill or incineration
Finally, setting clear end of waste criteria at EU level, may diminish uncertainties with regard
to investment decisions. Available choices will be clearer shaped for decisions on new
treatment capacities for biodegradable waste: either production of end-of-waste compliant
compost or one of the non-compost or digestate alternatives (including MBT + landfill or
incineration). Through strengthening the market demand, while changing the costs of high-
quality compost and digestate production only marginally, it can be expected that at more
places than today there will be favourable conditions for opting for compost or digestate
production. It can also be expected that the establishment of new capacities for the production
of non-end-of-waste-compliant compost or digestate will become rather unattractive because of
difficulties to find an outlet for the compost or digestate.
5.4 Legislative impact
5.4.1 Impact on national legislation
In some Member States there already exists specific compost or digestate legislation based on
waste law, including explicit provisions on the status of compost or digestate as waste or not
(e.g. biowaste and compost ordinances in Germany and Austria respectively). It can be foreseen
that such legislation would have to be adapted when EU end-of-waste criteria are introduced
for compost and digestate.
In other cases there are official rulings or practices by regulatory authorities that link end-of-
waste to compliance with certain standards or protocols, like in the United Kingdom. An
adaptation to end-of-waste criteria (for example concerning limit values or the need for quality
assurance) would also be required in these cases, although these would probably not have to be
of a full legislative nature.
As an accompanying measure to end-of-waste criteria, there is a need to adapt existing
legislation in Member States regulating the use of compost and digestate to harmonised
technical standards on product parameters, sampling and analysis. Furthermore, the use of
compost or digestate should be regulated also in those places where no such legislation exists
yet.
5.4.2 REACH impact on product status of compost and digestate
One of the most important pieces of legislation with regard to the product status of end of waste
compost and digestate is REACH.
REACH is the European Community Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation
and Restriction of Chemicals (EC 1907/2006)
49
. The law entered into force on 1 June 2007.
The aim of REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through
the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances. The
REACH Regulation places greater responsibility on industry to manage the risks from
49
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/reach_intro.htm
119
chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances. Manufacturers and importers
are required to gather information on the properties of their substances, which will allow their
safe handling, and to register the information in a central database run by the European
Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki. One of the main reasons for developing and adopting
the REACH Regulation was that a large number of substances have been manufactured and
placed on the market in Europe for many years, sometimes in very high amounts, and yet there
was insufficient information on the risks that they posed to human health and the environment.
REACH was set up to ensure that industry had the information necessary to manage its
substances safely.
For compost and digestate falling under the waste regime, REACH is not applicable, as it is
stated in Article 2(2) of EC 1907/2006 that "Waste as defined in Directive 2006/12/EC
50
of the
European Parliament and of the Council is not a substance, preparation or article within the
meaning of Article 3 of this Regulation."
However, compost and digestate no longer holding waste status under end of waste, is to be
regarded as a substance and therefore falls under the scope of the REACH Regulation.
Article 2(7)(b) of the Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) and its amendment by
Regulation (EC) No 987/2008 of 8 October 2008 sets out criteria for exempting substances
covered by Annex V from the registration and evaluation requirements as well as certain
downstream user obligations as described in Title V, because registration is deemed
inappropriate or unnecessary and their exemption does not prejudice the objectives of REACH.
Substances included in Annex V are exempted from registration (as well as downstream user
requirements and evaluation) for all their possible uses irrespective of the tonnage at which
they are manufactured or imported (currently or in the future). It should be noted that the
companies benefiting from an exemption must provide the authorities (on request) with
appropriate information to show that their substances qualify for the exemption.
Basically, two major exemption cases in Annex V are relevant with regard to compost and
digestate, and have been clarified in the "Guidance for Annex V - Exemptions from the
obligation to register"
51
.
Compost (Entry 12 in Annex V)
This exemption covers compost when it is potentially subject to registration, i.e. when it is no
longer waste according to Directive 2008/98/EC (WFD), and is understood as being applicable
to substances consisting of solid particulate material that has been sanitised and stabilised
through the action of micro-organisms and that result from the composting treatment.
It should be noted that a similar clear exemption is mentioned for biogas, but not for digestate
as such.
Naturally occurring substances, if they are not chemically modified (Entries 7 & 8 in Annex
V)
This group of substances is characterised via the definitions given in Articles 3(39) and 3(40):
According to Article 3(39), ‘substances which occur in nature’ means ‘a naturally occurring
substance as such, unprocessed or processed only by manual, mechanical or gravitational
50
Replaced by Directive 2008/98/EC (WFD)
51
http://guidance.echa.europa.eu/docs/guidance_document/annex_v_en.pdf
120
means, by dissolution in water, by flotation, by extraction with water, by steam distillation or
by heating solely to remove water, or which is extracted from air by any means’.
Furthermore the guidance document (Guidance on Annex V) states:
It should be noted that whole living or unprocessed dead organisms (e.g. yeast (…), freeze-
dried bacteria) or parts thereof (e.g. body parts, blood, branches, leaves, flowers etc.) are not
considered as substances, mixtures or articles in the sense of REACH and are therefore outside
of the scope of REACH. The latter would also be the case if these have undergone digestion or
decomposition resulting in waste as defined in Directive 2008/98/EC, even if, under certain
circumstances, these might be seen as non-waste recovered materials.
This would imply that digestate derived from unprocessed biological materials (e.g. fruit waste)
would be outside the scope of REACH, whereas digestate derived from processed biological
materials (e.g. residues from jam production) falls under the scope of the REACH regulation.
In conclusion, it follows that:
• compost would be exempt from the REACH registration obligations when it has not
reached end of waste status but also when it has as it is included in Annex V
• digestate would be exempt from the REACH Regulation so long as it is still waste,
exempt from REACH registration obligations when containing non chemically
modified biological materials because of entries 7 and 8 of Annex V, but subject to
REACH when containing chemically modified biological materials as it would no
longer be waste and could not benefit from the exemptions in entries 7 and 8 of Annex
V
As such, under the current circumstances, digestate producers will have to comply with
REACH under certain conditions when the end of waste digestate contains chemically modified
input materials.
5.4.3 Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation
The Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on substances and
mixtures (CLP) introduces the Globally Harmonised System of the United Nations (GHS) for
the classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS) into all EU Member States. It contributes to
the GHS aim that the same hazards will be described and labelled in the same way worldwide.
Waste is not considered to be a substance, article or mixture under the CLP Regulation. As long
as residues from waste treatment operations are waste, i.e. they are disposed of (e.g. land-
filled), they do not fall under the scope of CLP. However, residues which are recovered as
substances or mixtures do fall under the scope of CLP. Categories of substances or individual
substances listed in the Annex V of the REACH Regulation which are exempted under REACH
obligations for registration, evaluation and downstream user provisions, must be notified to the
Classification and Labelling inventory only when exhibiting hazardous properties. However, as
long as a manufacturer or importer concludes that it is inappropriate to classify a specific
substance covered by the Annex V of the REACH Regulation, this substance shall not need to
be notified to the Classification and Labelling Inventory.
It can be reasonably concluded that compost fulfilling EoW criteria (e.g. will not lead to overall
adverse environmental or human health impacts) would most likely not exhibit any hazardous
121
properties, and thus has not to be labeled according to CLP since it is not classified as
hazardous according to CLP. For EoW digestate exempt from REACH obligations for
registration according to the stipulations in Annex V, the same reasoning on the hazardous
properties would be valid and it would hence be excluded from the CLP obligations as well.
However, it appears that EoW digestate subject to REACH might be subject to the obligations
of the CLP.
5.4.4 Legal liability and law enforcement
One of the points deserving particular interest is that Member States may have to adjust their
control mechanisms when compost or digestate shifts from a waste status to a product status.
It implies that waste regulatory controls will cease to be imposed and that product regulatory
controls need to be established.
Furthermore, market surveillance mechanisms should be applied with the aim to detect any
fraudulent 'end of waste' products in the market.
122
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International ORBIT 2010 Conference, Heraklion, 29 June – 03 July,
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124
7 Glossary and acronyms
AD: anaerobic digestion
ABPR: Animal By-Products Regulation: Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 laying down health rules as regards animal
by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and repealing
Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 1-33).
Biodegradable waste: defined in the Landfill Directive as any waste that is capable of
undergoing anaerobic or aerobic decomposition, such as food and garden waste, and paper and
paperboard
Bio-waste: means biodegradable garden and park waste, food and kitchen waste from
households, restaurants, caterers and retail premises and comparable waste from food
processing plants. It does not include forestry or agricultural residues, manure, sewage sludge,
or other biodegradable waste (natural textiles, paper or processed wood).
CLP: Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008
Collection: (Follows the definition of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC)): the
gathering of waste, including the preliminary sorting and preliminary storage of waste for the
purposes of transport to a waste treatment facility.
Compost: compost is the solid particulate material that is the result of composting and which
has been sanitised and stabilised.
Consignment: means a batch of compost/digestate for which delivery from a producer to
another holder has been agreed; one consignment might be contained in several transport units,
such as containers.
Digestate: digestate is the semisolid or liquid product of anaerobic digestion of biodegradable
materials.
Disposal: (Follows the definition of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC)): any
operation which is not recovery even where the operation has as a secondary consequence the
reclamation of substances or energy. Annex I of the Directive sets out a non-exhaustive list of
disposal operations.
EoW: end-of-waste
Holder: means the natural or legal person who is in possession of compost/digestate.
Importer: means any natural or legal person established within the Union who introduces
compost/digestate which has ceased to be waste into the customs territory of the Union.
MBT: Mechanical Biological Treatment: means a two step treatment of mixed municipal
solid waste consisting of a mechanical separation and sorting step followed by a biological
treatment step. Depending on the final goal of MBT, the biological step is either aimed at
125
delivering a landfillable fraction with a minimum of unstable organic material or at producing a
stabilized organic compost fraction with a minimum of impurities.
MSW: Municipal solid waste. Means non-sorted, mixed waste from households and
commerce, collected together. This waste flow excludes the flows of recyclables collected and
kept separately, be it one-material flows or multi-material (comingled) flows.
Mt: Million tonnes. 1 tonne = 1000 kg (International System of Units)
Qualified staff: means staff which is qualified by experience or training to monitor and assess
the properties of compost/digestate and its input materials
Recovery: (Follows the definition of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC)): any
operation the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other
materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being
prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy. Annex II of the Directive
sets out a non-exhaustive list of recovery operations.
Recycling: (Follows the definition of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC)): any
recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or
substances whether for the original or other purposes. It includes the reprocessing of organic
material but does not include energy recovery and the reprocessing into materials that are to be
used as fuels or for backfilling operations.
Separate collection: (Follows the definition of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC)):
the collection where a waste stream is kept separately by type and nature so as to facilitate a
specific treatment.
Treatment: (Follows the definition of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC)):
recovery or disposal operations, including preparation prior to recovery or disposal.
Visual inspection: means inspection of consignments using either or all human senses such as
vision, touch and smell and any non-specialised equipment. Visual inspection shall be carried
out in such a way that all representative parts of a consignment are covered. This may often
best be achieved in the delivery area during loading or unloading and before packing. It may
involve manual manipulations such as the opening of containers, other sensorial controls (feel,
smell) or the use of appropriate portable sensors.
WFD: Waste Framework Directive (DIRECTIVE 2008/98/EC OF THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing
certain Directives).
126
8 Annexes
Annex 0: Stakeholder survey December 2010
127
128
Annex 1: Overview of the management of biodegradable
waste in EU Member States. Based on ORBIT/ECN (2008)
and stakeholder survey December 2010.
Legend:
Bio and green
waste
composting
B/GWC
Anaerobic
digestion
AD
Mixed municipal
solid waste
composting
MSWC
Mechan.
biological
treatment
MBT
Landfilling
LAND
Incineration
INCIN
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
AT x x - x - x
Biological waste treatment
Country wide statutory separate collection of bio- and green waste and the necessary composting capacity exist.
Landfilling and mechanical biological treatment
Austria has realised a national ban on landfilling of untreated and biodegradable waste in 2004 and meets the targets of the EU
landfill directive. MBT plants with 0.5 million tons of treatment capacity stabilise the organic part of the residual MSW (after
separate collection of bio-waste) so it meets the Austrian acceptance and storage criteria for landfills.
Incineration
Incineration is well established in Austria but besides sewage sludge not for organic waste.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
BE x - - - - x
The Waste Management System in Belgium is assigned to the 3 regions. Each region has its own waste management legislation
and policy. No information from the Brussels region is available.
Biological waste treatment
Separate collection of bio- and green waste and the necessary composting capacity exist in Flanders supplemented by a waste
prevention programme which reduces the waste amount for landfilling and incineration.
Landfilling and mechanical biological treatment
Landfilling of waste is intended to be reduced to the maximum level by waste prevention, recycling and mechanical biological
treatment in Flanders. Only waste which can't be recycled or incinerated should be landfilled. Flanders meets already the
reduction targets of the landfill directive after a ban on landfilling of organic waste in 2005.
Incineration
Incineration is well established in Flanders and Wallonia.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
CY - - - - x -
Biological waste treatment
In order to meet the EU diversion targets biological waste treatment capacities have to be built.
Landfilling
The full implementation of the landfill directive is planned for the year 2009. It requires a number of up to 100 existing landfill
sites to be closed and replaced by 4 non-hazardous waste treatment and disposal centres plus 1 hazardous waste treatment
centre. It also requires the establishment of a separate collection system for recyclable (packaging) waste and the promotion of
composting of biodegradable waste.
Incineration
No essential capacities recorded
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
CZ x - - - x x
Biological waste treatment
The National Waste Management Plan 2002 -2013 in the Czech Republic includes challenging targets for separate collection
and composting of biowaste in its Implementation Programme for biodegradable waste.
Landfilling
An implementation plan of the Landfill Directive has been prepared already in the year 2000 to meet all the nine key
requirements of the EU landfill directive.
Incineration
Incineration capacity is part of the Czech waste management.
129
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
DE x x - x - x
Biological waste treatment
Country wide separate collection of bio- and green waste and the necessary composting and anaerobic digestion capacity of
around 12 million t annually exist.
Landfilling and mechanical biological treatment
Germany has realised a national ban on landfilling of untreated and biodegradable waste by June 2007 and surpassed the targets
of the EU landfill directive already. Around 50 MBT plants with 5.5 million tons of treatment capacity stabilise the organic part
of the residual MSW (after separate collection of bio-waste) so it meets the German acceptance and storage criteria for
landfills.
Incineration
Incineration is well established in Germany but, except for sewage sludge, not for organic waste. Additional capacity is under
construction especially designed for the high calorific fraction from MBT.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
DK x GWC - - - - x
Biological waste treatment
Collection and composting of green waste is well developed and diffused in Denmark. Bio-waste composting stays more or less
on a pilot scale.
Landfilling
The number of landfill facilities in Denmark is expected to be reduced further. The requirements laid down in the Statutory
Order on Landfill Facilities are expected to lead to the closure of 40-60 landfill facilities (out of the approx. 150 existing
facilities) before 2009.
Incineration
Denmark largely relies on waste incineration. The general strategy is a ban on landfilling of waste that can be incinerated (is
suitable for incineration).
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
EE x - - - - -
Biological waste treatment
The Estonian National Waste Plan suggests the collecting garden waste in cities and enhancing home composting in rural areas.
Landfilling
For biodegradable municipal waste, the Estonian National Waste Plan gives a general priority to separate bio-waste from mixed
MSW before landfilling. The plan proposes to increase bio-waste recovery from 20.000 t in 2000 to 290.000 to 350.000 t in the
year 2020 and to decrease landfilling of biodegradable waste from 390.000 to 450.000 t in 2000 to 40.000 t in 2020. This shift
of capacities requires essential alternative treatment by composting or mechanical biological treatment.
Incineration
No essential capacities recorded.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
ES x x x - x x
Biological waste treatment
The national Waste Management Plan (NWMP 2008-2015) indicates a general target for the separate collection of the organic
fraction of MSW to be treated by composting or AD. This should be increased up to 2 million tonnes (from 417.078 tonnes
separate collected in 2006 ).
Landfilling
Biodegradable waste going to landfills should be reduced from 7.768.229 tonnes in 2006 (68% of MSW) to 4.176.950 in 2016
in order to fullfill the targets established in the Landfill Directive.
Incineration
The plan foresees to increase the incineration capacity with energy recovery from 2,1 million tonnes in 2006 to 2,7 million
tonnes in 2012. A 9% of the total MSW collected in 2006 were incinerated.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
FI x x - x x -
Biological waste treatment
A most important policy document in relation to biodegradable waste management is the National Strategy on Reduction of
Disposal of Biodegradable Waste on landfills according to the EU landfill directive requirements. This strategy also provides
means and assistance in order to reach the objectives set out in the landfill directive. Scenarios of the strategy give statistics and
forecasts for biodegradable waste production and treatment for the years 1994, 2000, 2006 and 2012.
The strategy contains an assessment of present biodegradable waste quantities and a forecast and various technological (incl.
composting, digestion, mechanical biological treatment) and infrastructural scenarios including waste prevention.
Landfilling
The Finish waste management strategy in the past was already quite effective in reduction efficiency for biodegradable waste
on landfills with less than 50 % of the volume than 10 years before.
130
Incineration
No essential capacities recorded.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
FR x - x - x x
Biological waste treatment and mechanical biological treatment MBT
Composting of selected biodegradable MSW is increasing but is still not consolidated (141,000 t in 2002). MSW mixed bio-
composting (called raw waste composting) is expected to increase essentially due to advanced technology screening and new
lower national thresholds for the compost quality.
In the last years the collection of green waste has strongly progressed through the setting up of collection points. Also, the
French agency ADEME has supported numerous composting projects.
The biological pre-treatment of waste is not widespread in France, but the experiences of the existing sites are followed with
interest.
Landfilling
Today waste landfilling still represents the most applied management options for MSW in France: 42% of MSW are sent to
landfills in 2002. From 2009 all landfills shall comply with the EU landfill directive requirements and diversion requirements.
France already largely respects the targets of 2006 and 2009 set by EU Directive on landfills. However, the estimated amount
of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill in 2016 is 40% of the total amount produced in 1995 but 35% is required by
the EU Landfill directive for 2016. In accordance with this requirement the waste management plans have been revised with a
stronger orientation towards recycling.
Incineration
There are approximately 130 incinerators at present in France. Some waste management plans foresee the construction of new
incineration plants, some of which are already under construction. It is estimated that the amount of waste going to incineration
will increase by 1- 2% in the next years. The capacity allows the biodegradable waste can be incinerated to a certain extent.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
GR - - - x x -
Biodegradable waste treatment
Legislation JMD 50910 repeats the dual commitment of the Greek government to close down all illegal landfills by the end of
2008 and to reduce the biodegradable municipal waste to 65% by 2020. Intermediate targets are: 25% (2010) and 50% (2013).
The targets will be achieved through the operation of recycling and composting facilities in almost all regions of the country as
well as through the full operation of the separate collection systems for selected waste streams.
At the moment, there are no facilities processing source separated organic waste, although it would be fairly easy to do so with
at least the green wastes, as they are collected separately anyway and some municipalities have thought of doing so.
Mechanical biological treatment MBT
Various regional waste management plans foresee the construction of MBT plants as the main tool to meet the Landfill
Directive targets. At present 3 such plants are in operation. Obviously, while the option to revise the waste management plans
to include other options such as thermal treatment or source separation is always open, but conditions for any of these options
do not seem to be mature yet.
Landfilling
Until the early 1990s, the use of uncontrolled dumps was the “traditional” method of solid waste disposal. Since then, the
overall situation has dramatically improved: There are 45 sanitary landfills constructed in Greece (41 already operational)
whereas 47 more sites are under construction including the expansion of existing ones. Last data for the year 2003 reports that
1032 dumping sites, mainly small, were still operating in various municipalities of the country. It is expected that by the end of
2008, uncontrolled waste dumping will cease to exist.
Incineration is not well diffused in Greece
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
HU x - - x x -
The National Waste Management Plan (NWMP) valid from 2003 till 2008 prescribes the general tasks of waste management in
Hungary. Main goals and targets:
Biological waste treatment
50% reduction of landfilled quantity of biodegradable waste of the volume generated in 1995 till 2007 The National Bio-waste
Programme (BIO-P, 2005-2008) has the following preferences to reduce BMW: recycling (paper), composting, anaerobic
digestion (biogas generation), MBT, thermal utilisation.
The needed capacity building until 2008 is 460.000 t/y composting and 100.000 t/y MBT (HU
52
)
Landfilling
Revision and liquidation of the old landfill sites till 2009. At the end of 2008 approximately half of all waste not including
biomass must be recovered or used in power engineering
Incineration
52
STRATEGIC EVALUATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND RISK PREVENTION UNDER STRUCTURAL AND
COHESION FUNDS FOR THE PERIOD 2007-2013 - Contract No. 2005.CE.16.0.AT.016. "National Evaluation Report for
Hungary - Main Report" Directorate General Regional Policy. A report submitted by GHK Brussels, Nov. 2006, p. 217.
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/evaluation/pdf/strategic_environ.pdf (download 15 Oct. 2007)
131
The old waste incinerators will be renovated or closed till 2005 (accomplished).
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
IE x x - x x -
The Irish waste management policy includes a strategy for a dramatic reduction in reliance on landfilling, in favour of an
integrated waste management approach which utilises a range of waste treatment options to deliver effective and efficient waste
services and ambitious recycling and recovery targets. Alternative waste treatment options like composting, digestion, MBT or
incineration more or less doesn't exist.
National Strategy on Biodegradable Waste (2004) sets the following targets for 2013:
• Diversion of 50% of overall household waste away from landfill
• A minimum 65% reduction in Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW) sent to landfill
• Developing biological treatment capacity (composting, MBT or AD) of up to 300,000 t/y
• Recycling of 35% of municipal waste
• Rationalisation of municipal waste landfills to a network of 20 state-of-the art sites
• Reduction of methane emissions from landfill by 80%
Composting and digestion are undertaken in Ireland. The mechanical treatment of mixed municipal waste is increasing but
the biological treatment of the mixed municipal fines produced is still at low levels.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
IT x - - x - x
Integrated biodegradable waste management with composting, MBT and incineration
Italy has established waste management in an integrated way according to the specific properties of the different material flows
using separate collection and recycling and the treatment options incineration (incl. energy recovery), mechanical biological
treatment (12 million t annual capacity - to segregate the high calorific faction and to stabilise the organic part before landfill)
and composting of source separated bio- and green waste (2.8 million t/y).
Landfilling and biological mechanical treatment MBT
In Italy the implementation of the Landfill Directive includes strict limits as regards organic matter (TOC) and the calorific
value of the waste to be landfilled. So pre-treatment of the waste by means mechanical biological treatment to allow to
stabilisation or energy recovery is necessary.
Coherently with decree 36/03 the Regions shall plan a strategy in order to decrease the amount of biodegradable waste going to
landfills. Before 27 March 2008 biodegradable municipal waste must be reduced to less than 173 kg per inhabitant per year,
before 27 March 2011 to less than 115 kg and before 27 March 2018 to be reduced to less than 81 kg per inhabitant per year
The waste management strategy identifies the following instruments to be implemented in order to achieve the targets:
• economic instruments to discourage landfill disposal
• separate collection of organic, wooden and textiles fractions
• mechanical/biological treatment
• biological treatment
• incineration with energy recovery
• ban on landfilling of certain waste streams
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
LT x x - x x -
Biological waste treatment
The development of the overall waste management system in Lithuania from 2006 aimes at meeting the targets of diverting
biodegradable waste from landfills set in the landfill directive. It is assumed that set targets will be met by increasing the
efficiency of separate collection of biodegradable waste and recyclables and implementation of facilities for treatment and
recovery of biodegradable waste, i.e. composting.
In regional waste management projects currently under implementation, construction of green waste composting facilities is
foreseen in most of the municipalities. However, in order to meet the stringent requirements of the Landfill Directive it is also
envisaged that in future some form of additional waste treatment will be required, i.e. incineration (with energy recovery),
mechanical-biological treatment, anaerobic digestion, etc.
In Lithuania many waste management companies have started composting activities due to a ban on the disposal in landfills of
biodegradable waste from gardens, parks and greeneries,.
Landfilling
The lack of environmentally safe waste disposal sites is a key problem of waste management in Lithuania. Special efforts have
to be invested into the development of new landfills which meet all environmental requirements included in EC Directive
1999/31/EC. Lithuania has indicated that no landfilling will take place in non-complying landfills after 16 July, 2009.
Incineration
There are no waste incinerators in Lithuania designed specifically for the combustion of waste.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
LU x x - - x -
National and local Waste Management Plans from 2005 includes the following quantitative objectives (% by weight)
should be attained for domestic waste, bulky waste and similar wastes (reference year: 1999):
organic wastes: rate of recycling of 75 %
132
rate of recycling of 45 %
other recoverable wastes: rate of recycling of 45 %
No further detailed information on landfilling and incineration is available.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
LV x - - - x x
Biological waste treatment
No biological treatment besides pilot projects
Landfilling
Latvia relies on landfilling
Incineration
No incineration capacity for MSW.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
MT - - - - x -
Biological waste treatment
No biological treatment, only one pilot project on composting. Activities for separate collection and composting were intended
for 2006 with no real progress until now.
Landfilling
Malta relies on landfilling
Incineration
No incineration capacity for MSW.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
NL x - - - - x
The Ministry of Environment has issued a National Waste Management Plan for the period 2009-2021 with the essential
provision to promote waste recovery, particularly by encouraging waste separation at source and subsequent separation of
waste streams. Waste separation allows for product reuse, material reuse and use as fuel. The level of waste recovery must
accordingly increase from 83% in 2006 to 85% in 2015.
Biological waste treatment
The Netherlands show with 3.3 million tons/year the highest recovery rate for source separated bio- and green waste in Europe.
Landfilling
Landfilling of the surplus combustible waste, as currently happens, must be finished within five years. The Waste (Landfill
Ban) Decree came into force in 1995 and prohibits landfilling of waste if there is a possibility for reusing, recycling or
incinerating the waste.
Incineration
Incineration should optimise use of the energy content of waste that cannot be reused by high energy efficiency waste
incineration plants.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
PL x - x x x -
Biological waste treatment
Biological waste should be collected separately by a 2 bins system mainly in the cities. Before July 2013 not less than 1.7
million tons/year, before 2020 not less than 2.2 million tons capacity should be installed which means the construction of 50
composting plants between 10.000 t and 50.000 t capacity.
In practice today there is only mixed waste composting with low qualities mainly used as landfill cover.
Referring to garden waste n the National Waste Management Programme it is implied that 35% of this waste category will
undergo the process of composting in 2006, and 50% in 2010.
Landfilling
Poland has been granted a transition until 2012 for the implementation of the Landfill Directive. According to the Treaty of
Accession, intermediate targets until 2012 were set out for each year, how much waste may be deposited in landfills.
Incineration
No essential capacities recorded
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
PT x x x x x x
Biological waste treatment
In order to reduce biological waste going to landfills the 2003 National Portuguese Strategy promotes separate collection and
composting or anaerobic digestion. An increased capacity from 285.000 t for organic waste in 2005 up to 861.000 t in 2016
should be constructed with 10 large and several small organic waste treatment plants.
Landfilling
In 2003 the National Strategy for the reduction of biodegradable urban waste from landfills came into force in order to meet the
EU Landfill Directive requirements. Additional recycling and incineration capacities should help to fulfil the diversion targets.
Lately, mechanical biological treatment is prioritised instead of recycling via composting or digestion of separately collected
organic waste.
133
Incineration
A third incineration plant and extension of the existing incinerators is intended.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
SE x x - - - x
Biological waste treatment
• 2010 at least 50% of household waste is recycled, incl. biological treatment
• 2010 at least 35% of food waste from households, restaurants, institutions and shops is recycled through separate
collection and biological treatment.
• 2010 food waste from food industry is recycled through biological treatment.
• Biological treatment will be mainly - besides green waste composting - based on anaerobic digestion.
Landfilling
Ban on combustible waste 1 January 2002 and on compostable waste: 1 January 2005
Inadequate statistics on how much combustible and organic waste is landfilled make it difficult to assess the need for increased
capacity to comply with the prohibitions.
No essential activities on mechanical biological treatment MBT
Waste incineration is well accepted and diffused
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
SI x x - - x -
Biological waste treatment
The management of biodegradable waste is determined by various legislation documents. The Decree on the landfill of waste
lays down the permitted quantities of biodegradable components in municipal waste that may be landfilled in Slovenia.
In order to reduce the quantities of biodegradable waste, concurrent with introducing limits on volume of biodegradable waste,
three additional regulations have been adopted, Decree on the management of organic kitchen waste and garden waste, Decree
on the treatment of biodegradable waste and Decree on the management of waste edible oils and fats. The Decree on the
treatment of biodegradable waste introduced compulsory operations considering the treatment of biodegradable waste and
conditions for use, as well as in regard to placing treated biodegradable waste on the market.
From the aspect of protecting natural resources, increasing the proportion of recycled and recovered waste as well as reducing
the negative environmental impact from landfilling, Slovenia adopted in 2008 an Operational programme on elimination of
wastes with objective to reduce the quantities of biodegradable waste disposal. Its main aim is to reduce quantities of
biodegradable waste as well as establishment of a complete network of facilities and plants for waste management. In line with
population number and geographical distribution, the plan was developed for 13-15 waste management centres. The general
concept of waste management envisages activities on three levels – local, regional and supra-regional. In the beginning of 2011
the revision of the Operational program is expected.
Landfilling
Today waste landfilling still represents the most applied management option for MSW in Slovenia.
According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, 822.700 t of waste were deposited on landfills in 2008. The
average structure of waste deposited on public infrastructure landfills in 2008 was as follows: 79.2% municipal waste, 9.4%
construction waste, 3.8% sludge from waste water treatment, 0.1% packaging waste, 0.7% waste from wood and paper
processing and 6.7% other types waste.
See also data :ARSO | KOS
Incineration
There are no waste incinerators in Slovenia designed specially for the combustion of municipal solid waste.
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
SK x - - - x -
Waste Act No. 223/2001 Coll. regulates the whole waste management. The waste management plan WMP SR for 2006-2010
was approved by the Government in 2006. Municipalities prepare waste management plans and are responsible for all waste
generated within.
Biological waste treatment
Article 18 (3m) of Act No 223/2001 does not allow to landfill green waste and also entails an obligation of separate collection
of biodegradable municipal wastes to municipalities. The WMP defines the target for 2010 as decrease of biodegradable
municipal waste landfilling on 20% of 2005. The municipalities are responsible for recovery of green waste. Usually they
operate (or co-operate with agricultural farms) composting or biogas plant.
Landfilling and incineration
Targets for 2010 for waste management for non hazardous wastes are the following 70% recovery, 0 % incineration and 19 %
landfilling.
134
The Slovak Report about the needs for the next Cohesion Funds period estimates until 2013 the need of 400 to 900 small
municipal compost plants and 6 to 10 large ones.
53
OPTIONS B/GWC AD MSWC MBT LAND INCIN
UK x x - x x -
Biological waste treatment
The UK Government and the National Assembly have set challenging targets to increase the recycling of municipal waste: To
recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste by 2005, at least 30% of household waste by 2010 and at least 33% of
household waste by 2015. No further provisions are made to which extent alternative treatments like MBT or AD are part of
the strategy.
Green waste composting is well developed and diffused in UK. AD shows growing interest.
Regions in UK have different specific targets recycling and treatment target exceeding the national requirements
Landfilling: Landfilling allowances can be traded within the municipalities by the LATS Landfill Allowance and Trading
Scheme.
Incineration:
Incentives exist to shift waste treatment from incineration, which is not very well diffused in UK.
53
Strategic evaluation on environment and risk prevention under structural and cohesion funds for the period
2007 -2013 - Contract No. 2005.CE.16.0.AT.016. "National Evaluation Report for Slovakia - Main Report"
Directorate General Regional Policy. A report submitted by GHK Brussels, Nov. 2006.
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/evaluation/pdf/strategic_environ.pdf (download 15 Oct.
2007)
135
Annex 2: National approaches and criteria to define whether
compost produced from waste may be marketed as product
or is still within the waste regime. Source ORBIT/ECN
(2008) and stakeholder survey December 2010.
Compost =
PRODUCT
or WASTE
Legal basis or
standard
Main criteria for
1) compost ceasing to be waste and/or
2) placing on the market and use of compost even under the
WASTE regime
AT PRODUCT Compost Ordinance
BGBl. I 291/2001
• Central registration of compost plant
• Positive list of input materials
• Comprehensive documentation of
o Waste reception
o Process management and material movement
o Compost quality criteria
o Product designation, declaration, labelling and selling of
compost
• External sampling and product certification by acknowledged
institute
If all criteria are met and approved by the external certification system
all types of compost can be marketed as PRODUCT.
BE
Flanders
PRODUCT
(secondary
raw
material)
VLAREA Flemish
Regulation on waste
prevention and
management (B.S.
1998-04-16)
Total quality control of the VLACO-certificate includes:
• Input criteria,
• Process parameters,
• Standards for end-product
• Correct use
Compost remains WASTE in any case.
User certificate by OVAM is necessary only for the application of
sewage sludge compost
BE
Wallonia
WASTE Decree on compost
and digestates
(currently being
examined by the
Walloon
Government)
Compost does not cease to be waste
Four classes (A, B, C, D) and two subclasses (B1, B2) are defined in
the classification system proposed by the administration for all
materials. Composts belong to class B, and are distributed between
class B1 and B2 according to the type or origin of the material
Material of class D can not be used on or in the soils;
Material of class C can not be used on or in agricultural soils;
Material of class A of B can be used on or in agricultural soils.
i. Norms of subclass B2 are those applied for treatment plant
sludge that can be recovered in agriculture in accordance with
European legislation, i.e. a management at the field level together with
a preliminary soil analysis must be undertaken (field level traceability
with soil analysis). In order to protect soils from metallic element
traces, a maximum quantity of material spreading is defined and the
soil is preliminary analysed for metallic element traces (in order to
avoid exceeding a defined level)
ii. Norms of subclass B1 are less restrictive than subclass B2
due to the lower concentration in metallic element traces and in organic
compound traces of certain material (such as wastes from food-
processing industry, green wastes compost, decarbonation sludge, etc),
and due to criteria that must be followed within the Water Code on
sustainable nitrate management in agriculture. Therefore, preliminary
soil analyses are not needed for subclass B1, which simplifies the use
136
Compost =
PRODUCT
or WASTE
Legal basis or
standard
Main criteria for
1) compost ceasing to be waste and/or
2) placing on the market and use of compost even under the
WASTE regime
of these materials on or in agricultural soils. The presence of a quality
management system allows the traceability to be at the farm/firm level,
otherwise the field level traceability is maintained.
BG --- --- ---
CY --- --- ---
CZ PRODUCT Act on fertilisers
156/1998 Sb. by the
Public Ministry of
Agriculture
ČSN 46 5735
Průmyslové
komposty
Czech Compost
Standard
Fertiliser Registration System; Central Institute for Supervising and
Testing in Agriculture, the Czech Environmental Inspectorate
One Compost Class; Quality requirements correspond to Class 1 of the
Czech Compost Standard but with less quality parameter compared to
the waste composts.
The use is not restricted to agriculture.
Compost has only to be registered for this group and the
inspection/control of samples is done by the Control and Test Institute
for Agriculture which is the Central Institute for Supervising and
Testing in Agriculture.
PRODUCT Biowaste Ordinance
(In preparation)
All 3 Classes foreseen in the new draft Compost Ordinance are defined
as END of WASTE criteria
DE WASTE Fertiliser Ordinance
(26. November 2003)
Closed Loop
Management and
Waste Act (KrW-
/AbfG); Biowaste
Ordinance (BioAbfV,
1998)
Compost also from source separated organic waste is seen as WASTE
due to its waste properties and its potential to pose negative impacts to
the environment. (risk of contamination)
• Positive list for input materials
• Hygienically harmless
• Limit value for heavy metals
• Requirements for environmentally sound application
• Soil investigation
• Official control of application by the waste authority
• Documented evidence of approved utilisation
All classes and types of compost, which are produced from defined
source materials under the Biowaste Ordinance remain WASTE
WASTE-
product (!)
RAL Gütesicherung
RALGZ 251
When participating in a voluntary QA scheme relaxations are applied
with respect to the regular control and approval protocols under the
waste regime. Though, legally spoken compost remains WASTE
quality assured and labelled compost can be extensively treated and
handled like a product. The relaxations are:
• No soil investigation
• No official control of application by the waste authority
• No documented evidence of approved utilisation
In principle all classes and types of compost, which are produced from
defined source materials under the Biowaste Ordinance remain
WASTE, but in practice, if certified under QAS of the RALGZ 251
compost can be marketed and used quasi like a PRODUCT.
DK WASTE Stat. Order 1650 of
13.12.06 on the use of
waste (and sludge) for
agriculture
The use of compost based on waste is under strict regulation
(maximum of 30 kg P/year/ha etc. and the concentration of heavy
metals in the soil were applied must not exceed certain levels. For this
reason the authorities want to know exactly where the compost ends up
which is only possible if handled as waste and not as a product (for free
distribution).
Compost from garden waste is not formally regarded as a product but is
treated according to the general waste regulation for which the
municipalities are responsible.
137
Compost =
PRODUCT
or WASTE
Legal basis or
standard
Main criteria for
1) compost ceasing to be waste and/or
2) placing on the market and use of compost even under the
WASTE regime
EE WASTE Environmental
Ministry regulations
2002.30.12 nr. 78 and
in Environmental
Ministry regulation
2002.01.01 nr. 269.
Heavy metal limits in compost (sludge compost)
No specific regulation on compost from biowaste and green waste
ES PRODUCT Real Decree
824/2005 on
Fertilisers Products
• Input list (Annex IV)
• Documentation (Art. 16): declaration of raw materials, description
of production processes, certification to declare the fullfillment of
all legal requirements
• Minimum criteria for fertilizer products to be used on agriculture
or gardening (Annex I): raw materials, how it shall be obtained,
minimum nutrient contents and other requirements, parameters to
be included on the label.
• Quality criteria for final compost (Annex V): heavy metals
content, nitrogen %, water content, Size particle, maximum
microorganism content, limitations of use.
FI WASTE
PRODUCT
Jätelaki (Waste Act)
Fertiliser Product Act
539/2006
Decree of the
Ministry of
Agriculture and
Forestry on Fertiliser
Products 12/07
WASTE status changes to PRODUCT if compost fulfils the criteria of
fertiliser regulation and is spread to land or mixed into substrate.
But there is no external approval or inspection scheme. Samples can be
taken by compost producer!
Waste can be used in fertiliser product, if compost fulfils the criteria of
the national fertiliser product legislation. The fertiliser product must
be produced in an approved estab-lishment which has self-
supervision. The fertilisers products have to full fill the the general
require-ments and type designation requirement before marketing
FR PRODUCT NFU 44051 Standard
Mixed waste compost – no positive list!
4 Product types
• “Organic soil improvers - Organic amendments and supports of
culture”
• “Organic soil improvers - Composts containing substances
essential to agriculture, stemming from water treatment (sludge
compost)”
• “Organic amendments with fertiliser”
• “supports of culture”
Further following quality criteria:
• Limit values for: trace metal concentrations and loads (g/ha*y),
impurities, pathogens, organic micro-pollutants
• Labelling requirements
There is no regular external approval or inspection scheme. Samples
can be taken by compost producer. However, there exists a legal
inspection by the competent authority based on the IPPC procedure
which in FR is also applied to composting facilities.
Compost which is not produced according to the standard is WASTE
and has to follow a spreading plan and may apply for a temporary
product authorisation. By this way the standard can easily be by-
passed.
GR PRODUCT Common Ministerial
Decision 114218,
1016/B/17- 11-97.
Fertiliser law (Law
2326/27-6-1995,
regulating the types
of licenses for selling
fertilisers).
Compost is considered as product and may be sold, provided it
complies with the restrictions of the frame-work of Specifications and
General Programs for Solid Waste Management.
No sampling protocol and analysis obligations/ organisations are
defined.
Composts produced from materials of agricultural origin (olive-mill
press cake, fruit stones, tree trimmings, manures etc) are considered
products and sold under the fertilisers law
138
Compost =
PRODUCT
or WASTE
Legal basis or
standard
Main criteria for
1) compost ceasing to be waste and/or
2) placing on the market and use of compost even under the
WASTE regime
HU PRODUCT
36/2006 (V.18.)
Statutory rule about
licensing, storing,
marketing and
application of
fertiliser products
Composts are in waste status as long as they are not licensed under the
Statutory rule Nr. 36/2006 (V.18.). After the licensing composts may
become a PRODUCT.
To achieve the product status needs to be in accordance with the
Statutory rule Nr. 36/2006 (V.18.).
Criteria:
• Input-List,
• External quality approval by acknowledged laboratories,
• physical, chemical and biological quality parameter for final
compost.
IE
PRODUCT EPA Waste license or
Local Authority
waste permit
Product status is based on site specific waste licence or waste permit;
compliance with all operational and product requirements laid down in
the consent document must be shown by producer. There is NO legal
standard or QAS or quality protocol in Ireland at the moment which
will say when waste becomes a product.
IT PRODUCT L. 748/84 (law on
fertilisers);
D.M. 05/02/98
(Technical Regulation
on simplified
authorization
procedures for waste
recovery)
Criteria for product status are based on National Law on Fertilisers,
which comprises:
• Qualitative input list (source segregated organic waste
• Quality parameters for final compost
• Criteria for product labelling
Compost from MBT/mixed waste composting plants may still be used
under the old Decree DPR 915/82 - DCI 27/7/84 as WASTE for
restricted applications (brown fields, landfill reclamation etc).
LT PRODUCT Decree of the
Ministry for
Environment (D1-
57/Jan 2007)
According to environmental requirements for composting of biowaste
the compost producer must provide a certificate on the compost quality
• Compost sampling is done by the PRODUCER (!)
• NO external approval or plant inspection
LU PRODUCT Waste licence The Product Status is achieved only when a QAS is applied. QAS is an
obligatory element of the waste licensing of composting plants. The
further criteria are:
• Positive list for input materials
• Hygienically harmless (Process requirements and indicator
pathogens)
• Limit value for heavy metals
• Requirements for environmentally sound application (labelling
LV PRODUCT Licensing as organic
fertiliser
(Cabinet Regulation
No. 530 “
Regulations on
identification, quality,
conformity and sale
of fertilisers”
25.06.2006)
Quality of the compost, its composition. The Product Status is achieved
only when it is registered and tested by certificated laboratory. The
further criteria are:
• Hygienically harmless
• Limit value for pollutants
MT WASTE --- NO provisions for compost
NL PRODUCT Fertiliser act (2008) One or more organic components, but no animal manure, broken down
by micro-organisms into such a stable end product that the composting
process is slowed down considerably.
• key criteria
o The composting process (hygienisation) and its
documentation
o stability (no value) and
o the absence of animal manure.
139
Compost =
PRODUCT
or WASTE
Legal basis or
standard
Main criteria for
1) compost ceasing to be waste and/or
2) placing on the market and use of compost even under the
WASTE regime
o heavy metal limits
o minimum organic matter content
o declaration & labelling
PL WASTE Fertiliser law Ministerial Approval by Min. of Agriculture and Rural Development
Criteria:
• Limit values for heavy metals (3 classes; also coarse and fine
compost)
• Test on Pathogens
PT PRODUCT NP 1048 – Standard
for fertilisers
Portaria 672002 pg
436
Compost is interpreted as organic soil amendment “Correctivo
organico”
There are no specific regulations available.
RO --- --- NO provisions for compost
SE WASTE Private QAS and
SPRC 152 (compost
standard)
Waste Criteria:
definition according to European court of justice.
The compost standard is managed by the Swedish Standardisation
Institute SP)
SI PRODUCT Decree on the
treatment of
biodegradable waste
(Official Gazette of
the Republic of
Slovenia, no. 62/08)
If compost meets the requirements of this Decree, compost is a
PRODUCT. If limit values are not met the compost can be used as
WASTE. Provided risk assessment is carried out by an accredited
laboratory.
Criteria:
Limit values for heavy metals (3 classes) and AOX, PCBs
Maximum levels for glass, plastics, metals
But: Compost sampling is done by the producer (!); no QAS
certification!
SK PRODUCT
Act No. 223/2001
Col. on waste as
amended
Slovak technical
standard (STS) 46 57
35 Industry composts
Act No. 136/2000
Col. on fertilisers
Act No. 264/1999
Col. about technical
requests for products
Regulation of the
Government No.
400/1999 Col. which
lays down details
about technically
requirements for
products
After biowaste has gone through recovering process it is considered as
compost, but such product can not be marketed
Compost may be marketed in case it is certified by an authorised
person according to Act No. 264/1999 Col.
Key criteria for the PRODUCT status:
• Quality parameter for final compost – STS 46 57 35
• Process parameter (sanitisation) – STS 46 57 35§
• Quality approval by acknowledged laboratory or quality assurance
organisation – Act No. 264/1999 Col.
UK WASTE
Waste Management
Licensing
Regulations
Animal By-Products
Regulations
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: Compost must be
sold/supplied in accordance with the Waste Management Licensing
Regulation rules for storing and spreading of compost on land (these
rules apply whether or not the compost is derived from any animal by-
products). There are not any quality criteria / classes but in the
application form and evidence (test results for the waste) sent to the
regulator, ‘agricultural benefit’ or ‘ecological improvement’ must be
justified. The regulator makes an evaluation taking account of the
characteristics of the soil / land that is intended to receive the waste, the
140
Compost =
PRODUCT
or WASTE
Legal basis or
standard
Main criteria for
1) compost ceasing to be waste and/or
2) placing on the market and use of compost even under the
WASTE regime
intended application rate and any other relevant issues.
Compost derived in whole or in part from animal by-products must be
placed on the market and used in accordance with the animal by-
products regulations.
PRODUCT
BSI PAS 100:2005
BSI PAS 100:2005
+ Quality Compost
Protocol
Scotland: requires certification to PAS 100 (or an equivalent standard),
that the compost has certainty of market, is used without further
recovery, is not be subjected to a disposal activity and is not be mixed
with other wastes, materials, composts, products or additives.
Northern Ireland: similar position as Scotland’s.
England & Wales: both, the Standard and the Protocol have to be
fulfilled to sell/supply/use “Quality Compost” as a PRODUCT.
Key criteria:
• Positive list of allowed input types and source types
• QM system including HACCP assessment; standard process
including hygienisation
• Full documentation and record keeping
• Contract of supply per consignment
• External quality approval
• Soil testing on key parameters
• Records of compost spreading by land manager who receives the
compost (agriculture and land based horticulture
• N.B.: In each country of the UK, if compost ‘product’ is derived
in whole, or in part from animal by-products, placed on the market,
stored, used and recorded as required by the Animal By-Products
Regulations.
141
Annex 3: Heavy metal limits in European compost and digestate standards. Source ORBIT/ECN
(2008) and stakeholder survey December 2010. Digestate standards are explicitly referred to.
Cd Crtot CrVI Cu Hg Ni Pb Zn As Country Regulation Type of standard
mg/kg d.m.
AT Compost Ord.:Class A+ (organic farming) 0.7 70 - 70 0.4 25 45 200 -
Compost Ord.:Class A
(agriculture; hobby gardening)
1 70 - 150 0,7 60 120 500 -
Compost Ord.: Class B limit value
(landscaping; reclam.) (guide value)*
Statutory
Ordinance
3 250 - 500
(400)
3 100 200 1,800
(1,200)
-
BE Royal Decree, 07.01.1998 Statutory decree 1.5 70 - 90 1 20 120 300 -
BG No regulation - - - - - - - - - -
CY No regulation - - - - - - - - - -
CZ Use for agricultural land (Group one) Statutory 2 100 - 100 1 50 100 300 10
Statutory
Landscaping, reclamation (draft Biowaste
Ordinance) (group two)
Class 1 2 100 - 170 1 65 200 500 10
Class 2 3 250 - 400 1.5 100 300 1200 20
Class 3 4 300 - 500 2 120 400 1500 30
Fertilizer law 156/1998, ordinance 474/2000
(amended)
DIGESTATE with
dry matter > 13%
2 100 150 1 50 100 600 20
Fertilizer law 156/1998, ordinance 474/2000
(amended)
DIGESTATE with
dry matter < 13%
2 100 250 1 50 100 1200 20
DE Quality assurance RAL GZ - compost /
digestate products
Voluntary QAS 1.5 100 - 100 1 50 150 400 -
Bio waste Ordinance Statutory decree
(Class I) 1 70 - 70 0.7 35 100 300 -
(Class II) 1.5 100 - 100 1 50 150 400 -
DK Statutory Order Nr.1650;
Compost after 13 Dec. 2006 Statutory decree 0.8 - - 1,000 0.8 30
120/60 for
priv.
gardens
4,000 25
EE Env. Ministry Re. (2002.30.12; m° 87)
Sludge regulation
Statutory - 1000 - 1000 16 300 750 2500 -
ES Real decree 824/2005 on fertilisers
Class A Statutory 0.7 70 0 70 0.4 25 45 200 -
142
Cd Crtot CrVI Cu Hg Ni Pb Zn As Country Regulation Type of standard
mg/kg d.m.
Class B 2 250 0 300 1.5 90 150 500 -
Class C 3 300 0 400 2.5 100 200 1000 -
FI Decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry on Fertiliser Products 12/07
Statutory decree 1.5 300 - 600 1 100 100 1,500 25
FR NFU 44 051 standard 3 120 300 2 60 180 600
GR KYA 114218, Hellenic Government
Gazette, 1016/B/17- 11-97 [Specifications
framework and general programmes for
solid waste management]
Statutory decree 10 510 10 500 5 200 500 2,000 15
HU Statutory rule 36/2006 (V.18) Statutory
Co: 50; Se: 5
2 100 - 100 1 50 100 -- 10
IE Licensing/permitting of treatment plants by
competent authority
stabilised MBT output or compost not
meeting class I or II
Statutory 5 600 - 600 5 150 500 1500 -
(Compost – Class I) Statutory 0.7 100 - 100 0.5 50 100 200 -
(Compost – Class II) Statutory 1.5 150 - 150 1 75 150 400 -
IT Law on fertilisers (L 748/84; and: 03/98 and
217/06) for BWC/GC/SSC
Statutory decree 1.5 - 0.5 230 1.5 100 140 500 -
Luxembourg Licensing for plants 1.5 100 - 100 1 50 150 400 -
LT Regulation on sewage sludge Categ. I
(LAND 20/2005)
Statutory 1.5 140 75 1 50 140 300 -
LV Regulation on licensing of waste treatment
plants (n° 413/23.5.2006) – no specific
compost regulation
Statutory
=threshold between
waste/product
3 600 2 100 150 1,500 50
Netherlands Amended National Fertiliser Act from 2008 Statutory 1 50 90 0.3 20 100 290 15
PL Organic fertilisers Statutory 3 100 400 2 30 100 1500 -
PT Standard for compost is in preparation - - - - - - - - - -
Guideline values of QAS Voluntary 1 100 - 100 1 50 100 300 Sweden
SPCR 152 Guideline values Voluntary 1 100 - 600 1 50 100 800 -
SPCR 120 Guideline values (DIGESTATE) Voluntary 1 100 - 600 1 50 100 800 -
Statutory: 1
st
class* 0.7 80 - 100 0.5 50 80 200 -
Statutory: 2
nd
class* 1.5 200 - 300 1.5 75 250 1200 -
SI Decree on the treatment of biodegradable
waste (Official Gazette of the Republic of
Slovenia, no. 62/08)
Statutory: stabilized
biodegradable
waste*
7 500 - 800 7 350 500 2500 -
143
Cd Crtot CrVI Cu Hg Ni Pb Zn As Country Regulation Type of standard
mg/kg d.m.
* normalised to an organic matter content of 30%
SK Industrial Standard STN 46 5735 Cl. 1 Voluntary (Mo: 5) 2 100 100 1 50 100 300 10
Cl. 2 Voluntary(Mo: 20) 4 300 400 1.5 70 300 600 20
UK UKROFS fertil.org.farming,
'Composted household waste'
Statutory (EC Reg.
2092/91)
0.7 70 0 70 0.4 25 45 200 -
Standard: PAS 100 Voluntary 1.5 100 - 200 1 50 200 400 -
Standard: PAS 110 (DIGESTATE) Voluntary 1.5 100 - 200 1 50 200 400 -
EU ECO Label
COM Decision (EC) n° 64/2007 eco-label to
growing media
COM Decision (EC) n° 799/2006 eco-label
to soil improvers
Voluntary
[Mo: 2; As: 10; Se:
1.5; F: 200 [only if
materials of
industrial processes
are included]
1 100 - 100 1 50 100 300 10
EU Regulation
on organic
agriculture
EC Reg. n° 2092/91. Compliacne with limits
required for compost from source separated
biowaste only
Statutory
0.7 70 - 70 0.4 25 45 200 -
144
Annex 4: Limits on the content of impurities in compost in
national compost regulations and standards. Source
ORBIT/ECN (2008) and stakeholder survey December
2010.
Country Impurities ∅ Mesh size Limit values
% d.m. (m/m)
AT Compost
Ordinance
Total; agriculture
Total; land reclamation
Total; technical use
Plastics; agriculture
Plastics; land reclamation
Plastics; technical use
Plastics; agric. excl. arable land
Plastics; technical use
Metals; agriculture
2 mm
> 2 mm
> 2 mm
> 2 mm
> 2 mm
> 2 mm
> 20 mm
> 20 mm
---
≤ 0.5 %
< 1 %
< 2 %
< 0.2 %
< 0.4 %
< 1 %
< 0.02 %
< 0.2 %
< 0.2 %
BE Royal Decree for
fertilisers, soil improvers and
substrates
Total
Stones
> 2 mm
> 5 mm
< 0.5 %
< 2 %
CZ Act on fertilisers
Total, agriculture > 2 mm < 2%
Biowaste Ordinance Total, land reclamation > 2 mm < 2 %
DE Bio waste
Ordinance
Glass, plastics, metal
Stones
> 2 mm
> 5 mm
< 0.5 %
< 5 %
ES Total impurities (glass, metals,
plastic)
> 2 mm < 3 %
FI Decree of the
Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry on Fertiliser Products
12/07
Refuse (glass, metal, plastics,
bones, rocks)
In packaged products
Sold in bulk
---
<0.2 % of fresh
weight
< 0.5 % of fresh
weight
FR NFU 44-051
Plastic films
Other plastics
Metals
> 5 mm
> 5 mm
> 2 mm
< 0.3 %
< 0.8 %
< 2.0 %
HU No restrictions --- ---
IE EPA waste license
Total; compost class 1 & 2
Total; low grade compost/MBT
Stones
> 2 mm
> 2 mm
> 5 mm
≤ 0.5 %
≤ 3 %
≤ 5 %
IT DPR 915/82
Fertil. law
Total
Glass
Metals
Plastics
Plastics
Other inert material
---
---
---
---
< 3.33 mm
> 3.33 < 10 mm
< 3.33 mm
≤ 3
≤
≤ 1
≤ 0.5
< 0.45 %.
< 0.05 %.
< 0.9 %
LV Cabinet Regulation
Total (glass, metal, plastics) > 4 mm < 0.5 %
145
Country Impurities ∅ Mesh size Limit values
% d.m. (m/m)
No. 530 , 25.06.2006
NL Fertiliser act +
various certification systems
Total
Glass
Glass
Stones
Biodegradable parts
Non soil based, non biologically
degradable parts
> 2 mm
> 2 mm
> 16 mm
> 5 mm
> 50 mm
< 0.5 %
< 0.2 %
0
< 2 %
0
< 0.5 %
SI Decree on the
treatment of biodegradable
waste (Official Gazette of the
Republic of Slovenia, no.
62/08)
Glass, plastics, metal
1
st
class
2
nd
class
Stabilized biodegradable waste
< 2mm
< 2mm
< 2mm
< 0.5 %
< 2 %
< 7 %
Minerals, stones
1
st
class
2
nd
class
Stabilized biodegradable waste
< 5mm
< 5mm
< 5mm
< 5 %
< 5 %
-
UK PAS 100
voluntary. standard
Total
Herein included plastic
> 2 mm < 0.5 %
< 0.25 %
Stones: other than ‘mulch’
Stones: in ‘mulch compost’
> 4 mm
> 4 mm
< 8 %
< 16 %
146
Annex 5: Provisions for the exclusion of pathogens,
germinating weeds and plant propagules in compost in
several European countries. Source ORBIT/ECN (2008)
and stakeholder survey December 2010.
Indirect
TIME- TEMPERATURE
Regime
Direct methods
°C %
H
2
O
part.
size
mm
time Application
area
pathogens /
weeds
product (P)/ approval
of technology (AT)
ABP Regulation
1069/2009
70 12 1h Cat. 3 material
Escherichia coli OR
Enterococcae
Salmonella
Process validation:
< 1000 / g in 4 of 5 samples
1000-5000 / g in 1 of 5 samples
Final Compost:
Absent in 25g in 5 of 5 samples
EC/ ‘eco-label’
2006/799/EC
2007/64/EC
Soil improver
growing media
Salmonella sp.
E. coli
54
Helminth Ova
54
Weeds/propagules
Absent in 25 g
< 1000 MPN (most probable
number)/g
Absent in 1.5 g
Germinated plants: ≤ 2 plants /l
55 –
65
10 d AT
Statutory ‘Guidline
– State of the Art of
Composting’
flexible time/temp. regimes are
described at min. 55°C 1 to 5
turnings during a 10 – 14 days
thermophilic process
Land reclam.
Agriculture
Sacked, sport/
playground
Technical use
Horticulture/
substrates
Salmonella sp.
Salmonella sp.
E. coli
Salmonella sp.
E. coli,
Camylobacter,
Listeria sp.
---
Weeds/propagules
Absent
Absent
If positive result recommendation for
the safe use
Absent
Absent
Absent
Absent
No requirements
Germination ≤ 3 plants /l
BE VLACO 60
55
4 d
12 d
process control
Weeds
Time, temp relation
Absent
CZ Biowaste
Ordinance
55
65
21 d
5 d
Salmonella spp.
E. coli
Enterococcae
Absent
< 10
3
CFU / g
< 10
3
CFU / g
DE Biowaste
Ordinance
55
60
1)
65
2)
40
40
40
14 d
7 d
7 d
Salmonella senft.
Plasmodoph. Brass.
Tobacco Mosaic
virus 1
Tomato seeds
Salmonella senft.
Weeds/propagules
Process validation
3)
:
Absent
Infection index: ≤ 0.5
Guide value bio-test: ≤ 8 /plant
Germination rate /sample: ≤ 2%
Compost production:
Absent in 50 g sample
Germination ≤ 2 plants/l
DK 55 14 d Controlled Salmonella sp. Absent
54
For those products whose organic content is not exclusively derived from green, garden and park waste
147
Indirect
TIME- TEMPERATURE
Regime
Direct methods
°C %
H
2
O
part.
size
mm
time Application
area
pathogens /
weeds
product (P)/ approval
of technology (AT)
sanitised
compost
E. coli,
Enterococcae
< 100 CFU /g FM
< 100 CFU /g FM
ES Salmonella sp.
E. coli
Absent in 25 g
< 1000 MPN (most probable
number)/g
FI Salmonella
Eschrichia coli
Root rot fungus ( for
instance Fusarium)
Globodera
riostochiensis and
pallida, Clavibacter
michicanensis,
Ralstonia
solanacearum,
Synchytrium
endobioticum,
Rhitzomania,
Meloidogyne spp
Other quarantine
pests causing plant
diseases
not found in a sample of 25 grams
1000 CFU/g
Not ascertainable in substrates used
in seedling production
Not ascertainable in a fertiliser
product manufactured from root
vegetable, beet and potato raw
materia or from topsoil fractions
accompanying these to the factory or
barking plant.
Not ascertainable in fertiliser
products manufactured from plant
waste or substrates in greenhouse
production
FR 60 4 d Gardening/
retailer
Other uses
Salmonella sp.
Helminth Ova
Salmonella sp.
Helminth Ova
Absent in 1 g
Absent in 1 g
Absent in 25 g
Absent in 1.5 g
IE Green waste --- --- --- --- Individual
license! 2004
Salmonella sp.
Faecal colimforms
Absent in 50g
≤ 1,000 MPN/g
Catering waste 60 400 2 x 2
d
Cat3 ABP 70 12 1 h
Individual
license! 2007
Salmonella sp.
Faecal colimforms
Absent in 50g
≤ 1,000 MPN/g
IT
Fertil. law
55 3 d
Salmonella sp.
Enterobacteriaceae
Fecal Streptococcus
Nematodes
Trematodes
Cestodes
Absent in 25 g sample
≤ 1.0 x 10
3
CFU/g
≤ 1.0 x 10
3
MPN/g
Absent in 50 g sample
Absent in 50 g sample
Absent in 50 g sample
LV Cabinet
Regulation
No. 530
25.06.2006
Fertilisers Salmonella sp.
E. coli
Absent in 25 g sample
< 2500 CFU /g
NL
Beoordeli
55 4 d Eelworms Absent
148
Indirect
TIME- TEMPERATURE
Regime
Direct methods
°C %
H
2
O
part.
size
mm
time Application
area
pathogens /
weeds
product (P)/ approval
of technology (AT)
ngsrichtlijn
keurcompost
Rhizomania virus
Plasmodoph. Brass.
Weeds
Absent
Absent
Germinating plants: ≤ 2 plants/l
PL All
applications
Ascaris
Trichuris
Toxocara
Salmonella sp.
Absent
Absent
Absent
Absent
SI
Decree on
the treatment of
biodegradable waste
(Official Gazette of
the Republic of
Slovenia, no. 62/08
55
60
65
14d
7d
7d
Salmonella sp. Absent in 25 g
65 50 7 d
4)
UK
PAS 100
voluntary standard
min. 2 turnings
All
applications
Salmonella ssp.
E. coli
Weeds/propagules
Absent in 25 g
< 1000 CFU (colony forming
units)/g
Germinating weedplants: 0/l
149
Annex 6: Regulation of the use of compost. Source
ORBIT/ECN (2008) and stakeholders survey December
2010
Regulation Requirements or restriction for the use of compost
AT
Compost Ordinance • Agriculture: 8 t d.m. /ha*y on a 5 year basis
• Land reclamation: 400 or 200 t d.m. /ha*y within 10 years depending on
quality class
• Non food regular application: 20 or 40 t d.m. /ha*y within 3 years dep. on
quality class
• El. Conductivity > 3 mS/cm: excluded from marketing in bags and for
private gardening
Water Act • Specific application requirements pursuant to the Action Programme
following the EU Nitrate Directive (e.g. limitation to 210 or 170 kg total N
per hectare an year)
BE
Flanders
Royal decree for fertilisers,
soil improvers and
substrates
Fertiliser Regulation
(nitrate directive)
VLAREA waste regulation
• An accompanying document with user information is obligatory.
• Fertiliser Regulation limits N and P, partly more compost use possible
because of beneficial soil effects compared to manure.
• VLAREA require VLACO Certificate for use and limits max. level of
pollutants and show conditions for max application rates
BG
No data available n.d.
CY
No data available n.d.
CZ
Biowaste Ordinance,
Waste Act (2008)
• According to the coming Biowaste Ordinance (2008) for the first class there
are restrictions according to Ordinance on hygienic requirements for sport
areas, the 2nd best can be used with 200 t d.m/ha. in 10 years.
Fertiliser law • Fertiliser law requires application according to good practice.
DE
Biowaste Ordinance
(BioAbfV 1998)
Soil Protection Ordinance
(BbodSchV 1999)
Fertiliser Ordinance
(DÜMV, 2003)
• The Biowaste Ordinance regulates agricultural use with compost
Class I 20 t d.m. in 3 years, Class II 30 t d.m. in 3 years.
• Soil Protection Ordinance for non agricultural areas between 10 and 65 t
d.m. compost depending on use.
• Fertilising with compost according to good practice
DK
Stat. Order 1650 0f
13.12.06 of the use of
waste (and sludge) in
agriculture
• 7 t d.m. /ha*y on a 10 year basis
• Restriction of nitrogen to 170 kg /ha*y
• Restriction of phosphorus to 30 kg /ha*y average over 3 years
• The levels for heavy metals and organic compounds are restricted in the
INPUT material for the composting process
EE
No compost restrictions
Only restrictions for the use of stabilized sludge "sludge compost"
ES
Real Decree 824/2005 on
Fertiliser Products
• Class C compost (mixed waste compost) 5t d.m./ha*y
FI
Decree of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry
on Fertiliser Products
12/07
• Maximum Cd load/ha 6 g during 4 years (crop growing area), 15 g during
10 years (landscape gardening), 60 g during 40 years (forestry);
• Soluble phosphorus load per 5 years 400 kg (farming), 600 (horticulture)
and 750 (landscape gardening); soluble nitrogen load during 5 years in
landscape gardening max. 1250 kg.
FR
Organic soil improvers -
Organic amendments and
supports of culture
NFU 44-051
From the moment a compost meets the standard NFU 44-051 there is no rule
for the use. In the standard, flows in heavy metals, and elements are restricted
to the maximum loading limits:
• Per year g/ha: As 270, Cd 45, Cr 1,800, Cu 3,000, Hg 30, Ni 900, Pb
2,700, Se 180, Zn 6,000
• Over 10 years g/ha: As 900, Cd 150, Cr 6,000, Cu 10,000, Hg 100,
Ni 3,000, Pb 9,000, Se 600, Zn 30,000
• Application should follow good agrarian practices, and agronomical needs
which are taken into account for the use of composts.
150
Regulation Requirements or restriction for the use of compost
GR
Common National
Ministerial Decision
114218/1997 Hellenic
Ministerial Decision
Upper limits for amounts of heavy metals disposed of annually in agricultural
land Cd 0,15, Cu 12, Ni 3, Pb 15, Zn 30, Cr 5, Hg 0,1, kg/ha/y
HU
49/2001 Statuory Rule
about the protection of the
waters and groundwaters
being affected by
agricultural activities
10/2000. (VI. 2.) KöM-
EüM-FVM-KHVM -
Water protection rule
• Compost application on agricultural land is limited by the amount of
nutrient with 170 kg/ha Nitrogen.
• Dosage levels depending on background contamination and nutrient content
level in the soil laid down in the National Statutory Rule about the threshold
values for the protection of the ground- and subsurface waters and soils.
IE
Statutory Instruments SI
No. 378/2006 Good
agricultural practice for
protection of waters:
Statutory instrument 612 of
2006
• IE Nitrate regulation: Compost has to be included in the Nutrient
Management Plan. Availabilty of nutrients calculated like cattle manure.
• There are specific waiting periods to consider for animal access to land
fertilised with biowaste compost based on the Animal-By-Product
Regulations.
o Catering waste: 21 d for ruminant animals; 60 d for pigs;
o Former foodstuff & fish waste compost: 3 years (under revision)
IT
National law on fertilisers
L. 748/84 (revised in 2006
with the new law on
fertilisers, D.lgs. 217/06)
Regional provisions
• Compost has to be considered a product to be used according only to Good
Agricultural Practice as long as it meets the standards. No restriction is set
on loads for unit area
• Some regions have codified approaches for low grade materials
applications and landfill reclamation, building on the old regulation on
“mixed MSW compost” (DCI 27/7/84)
LT
Environmental
Requirements for
Composting of biowaste,
approved by the Ministry
of the Environment on 25
January 2007, No. D1-57
Standards for sewage
sludge use for fertilising
and redevelopment
LAND 20-2005 (Gaz.,
2005, No. 142-5135)
• When compost used for improve the quality of the soil, the annual quantity
of the heavy metals can not exceed norms according LAND 20-2005.
• Compost application in agriculture and or soil reclamation purposes, is
restricted by contamination with pathogenic microorganisms, organic
micropollutants and heavy metals ( according to LAND 20-2005)
• Compost application on agricultural land is limited by the amount of
nutrient with 170 kg/ha Nitrogen and 40 kg/ha Phosphorous per year
LU
EU Nitrate Directive • No specific regulations; advise (voluntary): 15 t d.m. /ha *y
• Only record keeping about the compost use and send to the Ministry
LV
No regulations
only for sewage sludge compost
MT
No data available
NL
Fertiliser Act (2008) • Compost has to meet the national standard (heavy metals)
• In the new fertiliser legislation limitations for application are only based on
the nutrient content for agriculture max. 80 kg P
2
O
5
/ha*y and 120 to 250 kg
N /ha*y depending on the crop consumption
• For some crops which grow in the soil (e.g. potatoes) compost needs
certification and a low glass content < 0.2 %
PL
The National Law on
Fertilisers and Fertilization.
26.07.2000. Dz. U. Nr 89,
poz. 991
There are limits specified in regulations for amounts of composts applied to soil.
There are no limits for nitrogen but only for manures. Composts shall be applied
according to good agricultural practice
PT
No regulations available ---
RO
No data available
n.d.
SE
The Swedish Board of
Agriculture:
• Fixed maximum heavy metal load
Maximum heavy metal load (g/ha*y): Pb 25; Cd 0.75; Cu 300; Cr 40; Hg 1.5;
151
Regulation Requirements or restriction for the use of compost
SJV 1998:915
(sewage sludge regulation)
Ni 25; Zn 600
Nitrate directive Agriculture: nitrogen: 150 kg/ha*y and phosphorus: 22 – 35 kg/ha*y
Decree on the treatment of
biodegradable waste
(Official Gazette of the
Republic of Slovenia, no.
62/08)
• Class I can be used without any restrictions.
• Class II can be spread with a special permission with a limited application
rate considering the heavy metal content and load after an evaluation and
risk assessment performed by a lab (but not more than 10 t d.m./ha /year).
SI
Decree concerning the
protection of waters against
pollution caused by nitrates
from agricultural sources
(Official Gazette of the
Republic of Slovenia, no.
113/09)
• Application of organic fertilizer on agricultural land is limited by the
amount of nutrient with 250 kg/ha Nitrogen.
SK
Act No. 220/2004 Col. on
protection and using of
agricultural soils
• Lays down limit concentrations of risk elements in agricultural soils
Ministry of Agriculture
Decree No. 26/2000, on
fertilisers.
• Lays down fertiliser types, max. concentration of risk elements in organic
fertilisers, substrates and commercial fertilisers, storage and take-off
conditions, and methods of fertiliser testing
UK
Each country of the UK
has different requirements
Here is an example of parts
of the regulations
applicable for England and
Wales
• Use in agriculture and applications to soil other than land restoration:
A Waste Management Licence Exemption, Paragraph 7A, must be obtained
by the land owner/manager before accepting and storing then spreading
compost. The compost must be made from source segregated biowaste.
Per Paragraph 7A exemption:
• ‘Benefit to agriculture’ or ‘ecological improvement’ must be demonstrated,
which is done by spreading compost as per Nitrate Vulnerable Zone
regulations if within a NVZ, and following the Codes of Good Agricultural
Practice for the Protection of Soils and Water. Given the typical total
nitrogen content of ‚Green compost‘, the application rate would be
approximately;
• 30 - 35 fresh tonnes per hectare per year where a field NVZ limit of 250 kg
total nitrogen per hectare applies,
• 30 fresh tonnes per hectare per year if ‚Not NVZ‘ but as per good
agricultural practice, or
• 60 – 70 fresh tonnes per hectare once per two years if ‚Not NVZ‘ but as
per good agricultural practice.
• If the compost is classed as a waste, the Environmental Permitting
Regulations apply (paragraph 7 exemption, U10 exemption or Standard
Rules Permit) and a permit or exemption will be required by the land
owner/manager before storing or spreading the compost. If the compost has
ceased to be waste
• Voluntary Code of Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection: limitation
of nitrogen of 250 kg /ha/y (for all types of ‘organic manure’ used,
including composts); compost can also be applied at a rate of 500 kg/ha once
per two years
152
Annex 7: Admissible maximum dosage of heavy metals to
the soil in national legislation and standards [g/ha* y].
Source ORBIT/ECN (2008) and stakeholder survey
December 2010.
Country Cd Cr
tot
Cr
VI
Cu Hg Ni Pb Zn As Se
[g/ha* y]
EC ‘Sewage sludge’
1)
10 y basis 150 3,000 - 12,000 100 3,000 15,000 30,000 - -
AT
Sewage sludge
2)
Fertiliser. Ord. 2 years basis
20
5
1,250
300
-
-
1,250
350
20
5
250
200
1,000
300
5,000
1,500
-
-
-
-
BE VLAREA (comp.) yearly 12 500 - 750 10 100 600 1,800 300 -
CY No data available n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d.
CZ Sewage sludge yearly
max. 5 t d.m./3y in agriculture
5 200 500 4 100 200 2,500 30
DE
1)
sewage sludge 16 1,500 - 1300 13 300 1,500 4,100 - -
DK 7 t d.m. basis / calculated 5.6 700 7,000 5.6 210 840 28,000 - -
related to 30 kg P
2
O
5
/ha / calculated 3 - - - 6 75 300 - - -
EE No data available n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d.
ES RD 1310/1990 (SS) 10 years basis 150 3,000 12,000 100 3,000 15,000 30,000 - -
FI Sewage sludge 3 300 600 2 150 150 1,500 - -
Decree of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry on
Fertiliser Products 12/07 (average
based on 4,10 or 40 years
application)
1.5
FR NF U 44 51 (comp.) 10 years basis 15 600 1,000 10 300 900 3,000 90 60
NF U 44 51 (comp.) yearly 45 1,800 3,000 30 900 2,700 6,000 270 180
GR No data available n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d.
HU Sewage sludge (under Nr. 50/2001.) 150 10,000 - 10,000 100 2,000 10,000 30,000 500 1,000
IE SI 148/1998 [use of sewage sludge
in agriculture]
10 1000 - 1000 10 300 750 2500 - -
IT DCI 27/07/84 - MWC from mixed
waste
15 2,000 15 3,000 15 1,000 500 10,000 100 -
LT No data available n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d.
LU No regulation
-
-
- - - - - - - -
LV Sewage sludge 30 600 1,000 8 250 300 5,000
MT No data available n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d.
NL Nutrient loads (N,P) are the dosage
limiting factor
-
-
- - - - - - - -
PL Sewage sludge 20 1,000 1,600 10 200 1,000 5,000 - -
PT
1)
Sewage sludge /10 y basis 150 4,500 12,000 100 3,000 15,000 30,000 - -
RO No data available n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d.
SE SNFS 1992:2 (sewage sludge) 0.75 40 300 1.5 25 25 600 - -
SI
Sewage sludge use in agriculture on
10 year basis
15 2000 - 3000 15 750 2500 12000 - -
SK
No regulation
-
-
- - - - - - - -
UK
Sludge (use in agriculture)
Regulations
3)
sewage sludge
150 ? - 7,500 100 3,000 15,000 15,000 - -
153
average annual loading over 10 years
1)
Directive 86/276/EEC; average within 10 years
2)
Sew. Sludge Ordinance, Lower Austria (Class III)
3)
S(UiA)regulations: Statutory Instrument 1989 No. 1263, The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989
The QCP (England and Wales) sets maximum allowable concentrations for PTEs in soils that receive Quality
Composts, as specified in the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Code; these are more stringent than the soil PTE
maximum allowable concentrations allowed in the regulations.
SS … sewage sludge
154
Annex 8: Compost quality assurance schemes in EU
Member States. Source ORBIT/ECN (2008).
Country
(Quality label)
Status of quality assurance activities and certification/quality assurance organisation
AT
Fully established quality assurance system based on Austrian Standards ÖNORM S2206 Part 1 and 2 and
Technical Report ONR 192206 published by the Austrian ÖNORM Standardisation Institute. Up to now two
non-profit associations have adopted these standards for granting a compliance certification with the QAS:
• the Compost Quality Society of Austria KGVÖ (Kompostgüteverband Österreich)
• the Compost & Biogas Association – Austria (ARGE Kompost & Biogas – Österreich)
The certification schemes comprise both, operational process and quality management and final product
approval. Thereby the most important references are the requirements set by the Austrian Compost
Ordinance which provides for a comprehensive documentation and monitoring programme.
Compost can get product status if it meets one of the 3 classes based on precautionary requirements (class
A+ (top quality for organic farming), class A "Quality compost"(suitable for use in agriculture,
horticulture, hobby gardening and Class B (minimum quality for "compost" restricted use in non-
agricultural areas)
Under the roof of Compost Quality Society of Austria (KGVÖ) large scale compost producers
supplemented by experts, grant an additional quality seal for the marketing of high quality composts on the
basis of the officially acknowledged quality assurance system. External labs collect the samples and
analyses. Evaluation of the results, documentation and granting of the label is carried out by an independent
quality committee with expert members of the KGVÖ. (16 members - 300.000 t capacity)
Compost & Biogas Association Austria (ARGE Kompost & Biogas) was founded to establish the
decentralised composting of separately collected biowaste in cooperation with agriculture (on-farm
composting). Nowadays the association has grown to a full-scale quality assurance organisation on the basis
of the common Austrian standards. ARGE uses external auditors for sample taking, plant inspection,
evaluation, documentation and certification of the plants. (370 members - 300.000 t capacity)
BE
Fully established statutory quality assurance system for compost in the Flanders region operated by the non-
profit Flemish compost organisation VLACO vzw with its members from municipalities, government and
composting plants. (Around 40 green and biowaste plants with 840.000 t of capacity).
Based on the Flemish Regulation on Waste Prevention and Management VLAREA act VLACO vzw show a
very unique but effective integrated approach and a broad range of tasks. The organisation executes:
1. Waste prevention and home composting programmes
2. Consultation and advice for process management incl. co-composting and co-digestion
3. Sampling, organisation of the analysis and evaluation of the results
4. Organisation of field trials and development of application information
5. Marketing and Public Relation for organic waste recycling and first of all for the compost
So by means of this integrated approach the whole organic loop from source material to the use of the final
product is in one hand. Nevertheless some modifications are made lately in order to include elements of ISO
9000 and the Total Quality Management TQM the quality assurance of anaerobic digestion residuals and of
manure into the system. Not only the end-product is controlled but the whole process is followed up. In
TQM the input (the bio or green waste), the process and the output are monitored and analysed. The reason
to put standards on the input is that this allows no dilution.
Depending on source materials and product characteristics up to 15 different products can be certified
(statutory) and labelled (voluntarily) by VLACO vzw.
CZ Voluntary quality assurance scheme proposed by the regional Environmental and Agricultural Agency
ZERA is in preparation for a quality assurance scheme for 2008 after new biowaste Ordinance is in force.
Main task is to create a compost market by certifying compost products and organise a practical inspection
and control of compost. The certification scheme is based on requirements of the Czech institute of
accreditation in the agreement with international norm CSN EN ISO/ IEC 45011:1998.
DE
Fully established voluntary quality assurance system for compost and anaerobic digestion residuals in which
the Compost Quality Assurance Organisation (Bundesgütegemeinschaft Kompost BGK) organisation is
the carrier of the RAL compost quality label. It is recognised by RAL, the German Institute for Quality
Assurance and Certification, as being the organisation to handle monitoring and controlling of the quality of
compost in Germany.
155
Country
(Quality label)
Status of quality assurance activities and certification/quality assurance organisation
The BGK was founded as a non-profit organisation in order to monitor the quality of compost. Through
consistent quality control and support of the compost producers in the marketing and application sectors, the
organisation promotes composting as a key element of modern recycling management. 425 composting and
67 digestion plants with 5.9 mio t capacity plants take part in the quality assurance system and have applied
for the RAL quality label. Besides the central office, a quality committee works as the main supervision and
expert body in the quality assurance system. In addition BGK runs a database with all indicators of the
composting plants and analyses results of the products. Meanwhile it includes more than 35.000 data sets.
The BGK has defined a general product criteria quality standard (the RAL quality label GZ 251 for fresh and
mature compost as well as for compost for potting soil compost and for different types of digestion residuals
RAL GZ 245 (new since 2007 RAL GZ 246 for digestion products residuals from treatment renewable
resources (e.g. energy crops)) and established a nationwide system for external monitoring of plants and of
compost and digestion products.
The quality assurance system comprises the following elements:
Definition of suitable input in accordance with biowaste and fertiliser regulation.
Operation control by plant visits of independent quality managers.
square4 External and internal monitoring
square4 Quality criteria and quality label do demonstrate the product quality;
square4 Compulsory declaration and information on correct application;
square4 Documentation for the competent authorities.
The successful work is respected by the authorities in Germany by exempting member plants from some
control requirements which are subject to the waste legislation. By means of that procedure quality assured
compost show a "quasi" product status in Germany.
DK A quality assurance system for compost (quality criteria, standardised product definition, analysing methods)
is prepared by DAKOFA (Danish Association on waste management) but is not applied. No further
progress expected for the moment because separate collection of kitchen waste will not increase before the
present legal background. Green waste collection and composting is very well diffused but not subject to any
waste and quality standards regulation in Denmark.
ES
Draft statutory Spanish standard on compost legislation, laying down standardised, nationwide rules
concerning the production, marketing and labelling of compost as a product prepared by the Ministry of
Environment.
A lot of studies confirmed for Spain the need to improve the compost quality in order to open up markets.
This was in the outcome of a LIFE Project too deemed to investigate the production and use of quality
compost in Andalusia. Based on the results the Andalusia´s Regional Ministry of Environment has
designed and registered a trademark “Environmental Accreditation of Compost” that allows - on a voluntary
basis - companies producing compost to show its quality.
The Order 20/07/07 Environmental Accreditation of Compost Quality. BOJA nº 156 8/8/2007 explains how
to get and use it .Compost should fulfil some limits according to the Real Decret 824/2005, 8/7/05, about
fertilisers. It is the Andalusia´s Regional Ministry of Environment who will control the label use and define
accredited laboratories to analyse compost samples. There is no independent sample taking.
HU
Voluntary Hungarian Compost Quality Assurance System is prepared (but not implemented) by the
Hungarian Compost Association and waiting for the revision of the existing regulations which are intended
for sewage sludge and fertilisers and are not applicable for composting.
The Hungarian Compost Association has completed in 2006 the framework of the assurance system
(similar to the German BGK and Austrian KGVÖ examples) and is now waiting for the new Hungarian
Statutory rule about production, nominating, marketing and quality assurance for composts.
Basic elements of the future Compost Quality Assurance Systems (implementation in 2009) are:
1. Raw material list (permissive list)
2. Compost Classes
The Ordinance will define three different quality classes for compost based on the contaminant content. Will
also define ways of utilisation.
The classes (similar to the Austrian ones) will be:
Class A - top quality (suitable for organic farming use)
Class B - high quality (suitable for agricultural use)
Class C - minimum quality (not suitable for agricultural use)
3. Quality control
End-product controlling and process controlling. Independent sample taking and analysis is intended.
IE A first draft for a voluntary compost quality standard was presented in Ireland (2007). This task and the
follow up establishment of a quality assurance system are elements of the national Market Development Plan
156
Country
(Quality label)
Status of quality assurance activities and certification/quality assurance organisation
- intended to create market for recyclables - have recently started.
The Irish Composting Association CRE supports is involved in these developments.
Limits for pollutants, stability, etc. are specified in waste authorisations (e.g. EPA Waste licences and Local
Authority waste permits).
IT
Voluntary quality assurance on operated by the Italian Compost Association CIC, the Italian National
Association for the compost industry. It started as certification system for compost products in order to show
compliance with the national fertiliser regulation and the statutory quality standards for green and mixed
compost are laid down there. No monitoring of the standard is proposed.
Basically, the quality label ensures fulfilment of statutory standards (assessment of compliance is usually an
issue due to the rather poor performance of controlling authorities, hence CIC aims to reinforce the
“declaration of compliance”).Within the scheme samplings are made by certificated personnel from the
Italian Composting Association (CIC) and analyzed at a single accredited laboratory.
Now the scheme turns step by step into a quality assurance system e.g. with preparation of certifying the
entire production process and above all (as requested by consumers) the traceability of compost.
The CIC Quality Label is considering this to be a very important initiative for the industry because it
provides an independent element of security upon which consumers and operators can make their choices.
Currently, the quantities of compost that can be certified amount to approx. 250,000 tons /y, which
represents approximately 20% of the Italian production.
LU
Statutory system which relies on the German Quality Assurance System and on the German Organisation
(Bundesgütegemeinschaft Kompost e.V. BGK). The request to execute a "quality assurance system like
the one of BGK or similar" is part of the licensing procedure for every composting plant. Missing
alternatives have established the BGK system in Luxembourg as the one and only. All independent
sampling, control functions and documentation functions will be executed by the BGK representatives. (5
compost plants with around 50.000 t/y total capacity are part of the scheme)
LV
On the starting stage (from Nov. 2006), quality assurance organization Environmental Agency
After 10 years of experiences the Dutch Government decided that not the quality but the nutrients are the
primary precautionary problems with compost. Less strict heavy metal thresholds and no obligations for
control any more is one result. In addition no longer is the applied amount of compost but the nutrient load
limited. All compost which is used for crops which grow in the soil must be independently certified with a
very strict threshold for glass. Because the sales area of compost is not predictable while the production,
more or less all biowaste composts, will be certified in future and compost certification will become quasi
statutory.
For vegetable, fruit and garden VFG waste the certification is operated by independent institutes/auditors
with independent sample takers in cooperation with the Dutch Waste Management Association DWMA/VA.
The around 20 VA members treat 1.5 mio VFG waste from separate collection. This new scheme will
replace the former costly KEUR certification system operated by the Dutch certification system KIWA.
NL
1.1
The BVOR Dutch Association of Compost Plants manages the certification system in both the green waste
and VFG sectors which doesn't require external sampling but independent institutes/auditors for the
evaluation of the process and the analysis results. 50 green waste composting plants with 1.8 mio tons of
capacity are member of the BVOR.
PL Quality Assurance refers only to the final product. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
gives the certificate of organic fertiliser based on its chemical properties and pathogen status after the
compost receives a positive expertise from the designated institution (depending on planned application
area).
SE
Voluntary quality assurance system for compost and digestion products is operated by the Swedish Waste
Management Association Avfall Sverige together with Swedish Standardisation Institute SP.
For the moment Sweden has no statutory standard, but the necessity of standards is seen clearly by involved
parties and the government. Producers and users are of the opinion that sustainable recycling of organic
wastes demands clear regulations regarding what is suitable to be recycled and how it should be managed
and controlled. A well-founded quality assurance programme definitely increases sustainable recycling of
organic wastes. The regulations for the voluntary Swedish certification of compost and digestion residues are
based on purely source-separated organic waste, with special emphasis on the acceptability of raw materials
157
Country
(Quality label)
Status of quality assurance activities and certification/quality assurance organisation
for input, the suppliers, the collection and transportation, the intake, treatment processes, and the end
product, together with the declaration of the products and recommendations for use. 6 digestion and 1
composting plant are included in the certification system and have applied for the certificate.
UK
Voluntary standard BSI PAS 100 and the supplementing Quality Compost Protocol (QCP) set criteria for the
production and minimum quality of quality composts. The UK Composting Association owns a
certification scheme aligned to BSI PAS 100, which has been upgraded to incorporate the additional
requirements of the QCP. Composting plants and compost particle size grades that meet all the requirements
can get their composts certified and use the Composting Association's quality mark. Around 150 composting
producers are under assessment, treating more than 2 mio t of source segregated bio and green waste, and 40
% of the compost they produce is already certified.
BSI PAS 100:2005 specifies the minimum requirements for the process of composting, the selection of
materials from which compost is made, minimum compost quality, how compost is labelled and requires that
it is traceable. It also requires Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point assessment, the implementation of
a compost Quality Management System and correct compost labelling and marking.
Compliance with requirements of the QCP is considered sufficient to ensure that the recovered biowaste may
be used without risk to the environment or harm to human health and therefore without the need for waste
regulatory control. In addition, The Quality Compost Protocol requires compost certification to PAS 100 and
also imposes restrictions on materials from which quality composts can be made and in which markets they
can be used as ‘product’. The QCP also requires the producer to supply customers with contracts of supply,
and if Quality Compost is stored and used in agriculture or field horticulture, this must be done in
accordance with the Codes of Good Agricultural Practice and that soil PTE concentrations do not exceed the
Sludge Use in Agriculture Code’s limits.
The Quality Protocol further aims to provide increased market confidence in the quality of products made
from biowaste and so encourage greater recovery of source-segregated biowaste. In England and Wales,
compost must be independently certified compliant with both PAS 100 and the Quality Compost Protocol
for it to be supplied to the designated market sectors as a ‘product’. In Scotland, for compost to be supplied
as a ‘product’ it must be certified to PAS 100 (or an equivalent standard), have certainty of market, be used
without further recovery, not be subjected to a disposal activity and not be mixed with other wastes,
materials, composts, products or additives. Northern Ireland’s position is currently similar to Scotland’s.
Compost can be placed on the market as a recovered waste material in any of the countries of the UK; in this
circumstance, waste management licensing regulation requirements must be adhered to.
A number of local authorities have required PAS 100 certification in contracts with compost producers, and
in England and Wales in particular, may start requiring certification to the Quality Compost Protocol as well.
158
Annex 9: Biodegradable wastes that are currently regarded
as suitable for composting in one or more Member States
Country codes in […] indicate that the use of this waste as input material for composting is
connected with certain restrictions for marketing and use or that specific quality requirements must
be met. See also footnotes.
Type of waste material Further specifications EWC
Code
Corresponding EWC waste
type
Input materials accepted by
MS
1 Waste for biological treatment from exclusively vegetable origin (NO animal by-products
or meat)
1.1 Organic vegetable waste from garden & parks and other greens
1.1.01 Mixtures from organic wastes
according to 1.1
corresponds to VFG = vegetable,
fruit & garden waste; source
separated
n.s. n.s. AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, FR, HU,
IE, NL, PL, SE, SI, UK
1.1.02 Grass cuttings, hay, leaves, Only slightly contaminated cuttings
(not along highly frequented
streets and highways
20 02 01 Compostable waste AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV,
NL, PL, SE, SI, SK, UK
1.1.03 Leaves, Only slightly contaminated (not
along highly frequented streets
and highways
20 02 01 Compostable waste AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, LV, NL,
PL, SE, SI, SK, UK
1.1.04 Vegetable waste, flower
waste, windfalls
Also cut flowers from florist markets
and households
20 02 01
02 01 03
Compostable waste
Waste from vegetable tissue
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, LV, NL,
PL, SE, SI, SK, UK
1.1.05 Bark Only bark not treated with lindane 03 01
01
55
03 03 01
Bark and cork waste
Waste from wood preparation
and the production of
cellulose, paper and cardboard
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LT,LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.1.06 Wood , not specified Only untreated wood; 03 01 05 Saw dust, wood shavings,
cuttings, wood, chipboard,
veneer with the exception of
those which belongs to 03 01
04
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, [IT]
56
, LT, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.1.07 Wood, tree and bush cuttings Complete or shreddered 20 01 38
20 02 01
Wood with the exception of
those which belong to 20 01
37 Biodegradable waste
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, [IT]
57
, LT, LU,
NL, PL, SE, SI, SK, UK
1.1.08 Wood, from the processing of
untreated wood
Only untreated wood 03 01 05 Saw dust, wood shavings,
cuttings, wood, chipboard,
veneer with the exception of
those which belong to 03 01
04
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, [IT]
57
, LT, LU,
NL, PL, SE, SI, SK, UK
1.1.09 Cemetery waste – source
separated
20 02 01 Biodegradable waste AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.2 Vegetable waste, from the preparation and consumption of food, luxury food & beverages
1.2.01 Cereals, fruit & vegetables 20 02 01
02 01 03
Compostable waste
Waste from vegetable tissue
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.2.02 Tea leaves, coffee grounds 20 02 01
02 01 03
Compostable waste
Waste from vegetable tissue
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.2.03 Dough, yeast 20 02 01
02 01 03
Compostable waste
Waste from vegetable tissue
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.2.04 Residues from spices and
herbs
20 02 01
02 01 03
Compostable waste
Waste from vegetable tissue
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
55
Waste from wood processing and the production of plates and furniture
56
To be specifically approved for each plant
57
To be specifically approved for each plant
159
Type of waste material Further specifications EWC
Code
Corresponding EWC waste
type
Input materials accepted by
MS
1.2.05 Wooden oversize fraction
from screening compost for
reuse in composting
n.s. n.s.
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES
58
,
FI, FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL,
PL, SE, SI, UK
1.2.06 Former foodstuff Of vegetable origin only 02 01 03
02 03
04
59
Waste from vegetable tissue
Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, UK
1.2.07 Vegetable catering waste and
used cooking oil
Of vegetable origin only (plant
tissue)
source separated from central as
well as household kitchens as well
as catering services
02 01 03
02 03
04
60
Waste from vegetable tissue
Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, UK
1.3 Organic residues from commercial, agricultural and industrial production, processing and marketing of
agricultural and forestry products – purely of vegetable origin
1.3.01 Harvest residues, hay and
silage
02 01
03
61
Plant-tissue waste AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, NL,
PL, SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.02 Bark 02 01
03
61
Plant-tissue waste AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.03 Grain/Cereal dust 02 01
03
61
Plant-tissue waste AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.04 Straw 02 01
03
61
Plant-tissue waste AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.05 Vines 02 03 04 Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.06 Tobacco waste 02 03 04 Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.07 Beet chips, tails 02 01
03
61
02 03 04
Plant-tissue waste
Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.08 Residues from canned and
deep freeze food processing
02 03 04 Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.09 Residues from fruit juice and
jam production
02 03 04 Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.11 Residues from starch
production
02 03 04 Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.12 Vinasse, molasse residues 02 03 04 Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.13 Feed and feed residues not fit
for use
Of vegetable origin only 02 01
03
61
Plant-tissue waste AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.14 Residues of tea and coffee
production
02 03 04 Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.15 Marc, seeds, shells, grist,
press-cake
e.g. from oil mills, spent barley,
draff of hop; marc of medicinal
plants, copra, only materials which
have not been treated with organic
extraction agents
02 03 01 Sludge from washing,
cleaning, peeling, centrifuging
and segregation processes
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, NL,
PL, SE, SI, UK
62
1.3.16 Crushed grain or process 02 03 01 Sludge from washing, AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
58
Not considered because it not appears in European waste list, but presumably it would not be of any problem to include it
59
Waste from the preparation and processing of fruit, vegetables, grain, cooking oil, cacao, coffee, tea and tobacco, from
canned food production, yeast production and preparation of molasses
60
Waste from the preparation and processing of fruit, vegetables, grain, cooking oil, cacao, coffee, tea and tobacco, from
canned food production, yeast production and preparation of molasses
61
02 01: Waste form agriculture, horticulture, fish farming, forestry, hunting and fishing
62
allowed in PAS 100 (BSI, 2005) but not yet in Quality Compost Protocol (Environment Agency, 2007)
160
Type of waste material Further specifications EWC
Code
Corresponding EWC waste
type
Input materials accepted by
MS
residues cleaning, peeling, centrifuging
and segregation processes
FR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, NL,
PL, SE, SI, UK
62
1.3.17 Fruit, cereal and potato draff From breweries and distilleries 02 03 01 Sludge from washing,
cleaning, peeling, centrifuging
and segregation processes
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, IE, IT, LT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
62
1.3.18 Filtration ditomite n.s. n.s. AT, PL
1.3.19 Uncontaminated sludge or
residues of press filters from
separately collected process
water of the food, beverage,
tobacco and animal feed
industry
From vegetable, fruit and plant
tissue processing only
Sludge from washing,
cleaning, peeling, centrifuging
and segregation processes
AT, PL, UK
62
1.3.20 Eventually slightly polluted
sludge from the food and
fodder industry exclusively of
vegetable origin
02 03 01
02 03 05
Sludge from washing,
cleaning, peeling, centrifuging
and segregation processes
Sludge from company owned
waste treatment
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, HU,
IE, IT, NL, PL, [SE], SI, UK
62
1.3.21 Eventually slightly polluted
pressfilter, extraction and oil
seed residues from the food
and fodder industry
exclusively of vegetable origin
02 03 04 Materials not suitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FR,
HU, IE, IT, NL, PL, [SE], SI,
UK
72
1.3.22 02 07 01 Wastes from washing, cleaning
and mechanical reduction of
raw materials
CZ, ES, PL, SI, UK,
1.3.23 02 07 02 Wastes from spirits distillation CZ, ES, PL, SI, UK
1.3.24 02 07 04 Materials unsuitable for
consumption or processing
CZ, ES, PL, SI, UK
1.3.25
Wastes from the production of
alcoholic and non-alcoholic
beverages (except coffee, tea
and cocoa’
02 07 99 Wastes not otherwise specified SI, UK
1.3.26 Spoilt seeds 02 01 03 Plant-tissue waste
AT, BE
63
, BG, CZ, DE, ES,
FI, FR, HU, IE?, IT, LU, NL,
PL, SE, SI, UK
1.3.27 Wood, tree and bush cuttings Complete or shreddered 20 01 38
20 02 01
Wood with the exception of
those which belong to
20 01 37
Biodegradable waste
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, [IT]
64
, LU, NL,
SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.28 Wood, from the processing of
untreated wood
Only untreated wood 03 01 05 Saw dust, wood shavings,
cuttings, wood, chipboard,
veneer with the exception of
those which belong to
03 01 04
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, [IT]
57
, LU, NL,
PL, SE, SI, SK, UK
1.3.29 Wood – sawdust Only untreated wood 03 01 05 Saw dust, wood shavings,
cuttings, wood, chipboard,
veneer with the exception of
those which belong to
03 01 04
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, [IT]
57
, LU, NL,
PL, SE, SI, SK, UK
1.4 Other Organic residues – purely of vegetable origin
1.4.01 Sub-aqua plants; sea weed 02 01 03 Plant-tissue waste
AT, BE
63
, BG, CZ, DE,
ES, FI, FR, HU, IE?, IT,
LT, LU, NL, PL, SE, SI,
UK
1.4.02 Micelles from antibiotics
production
16 03 06 Organic waste with the exception
of those listed under 16 03 05
AT, BE
65
, CZ, DE, NL,
PL, SE, SI
1.4.03 Biodegradable packaging and
bioplastics
07 02 13,
15 01 02,
15 01 05
waste plastic
plastic packaging
composite packaging
AT
66
, BG, DE, ES, FI, FR,
HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, NL, PL,
SE, UK
67
63
approved on case by case basis
64
To be specifically approved for each plant
65
in accordance with the regulation on GMOs (genetically modified organisms)
66
non bio-based source materials max. 5%; conventional plastic polymers are excluded.
67
Compostable packaging:
Allowed only if independently certified in compliance with one or more of the following:
circle4 BS EN 13432 Packaging - requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation.
161
Type of waste material Further specifications EWC
Code
Corresponding EWC waste
type
Input materials accepted by
MS
1.4.04 15 01
15 01 03
paper and cardboard packaging
wooden packaging
AT
68
, CZ, SI, UK
69
1.4.05
Wastes from packaging;
absorbents, filter materials,
wiping cloths and protective
clothing’
15 01 09 textile packaging
AT, UK
70
1.4.06 20 01 01 Paper and cardboard
AT
68
, CZ, SI, UK
69
1.4.07
Municipal Wastes (household
waste and similar commercial,
industrial and institutional
waste) including separately
collected fractions’
20 01 99 Other fractions not otherwise
specified
SI, UK
1.4.08 Cooking oil and fats, grease
trap residues of vegetable
origin
02 03 04
20 01 25
Materials unsuitable for
consumption or processing
Edible oil and fat
AT, [BE]
71
, CZ, DE, ES,
FI, FR, HU, IE, IT, NL, PL,
SE, UK
72
1.4.09 Silage leachate water 02 01 99 Waste not further specified
AT, BE, FR, [IT]
56
, NL,
PL, SE, SI,
1.4.10 Waste from forestry 02 01 07 Waste from forestry AT, CZ, LU, PL, SI, UK
1.4.11 Fibre rejects Waste from pulp, paper and
cardboard production and
processing
03 03 10 Fibre rejects ES, CZ, PL, SI, UK,
1.4.12 Waste bark and wood Waste from pulp, paper and
cardboard production and
processing
03 03 01 Waste bark and wood ES, CZ, PL, SI, UK
1.4.13 Organic matter from natural
products
Wastes from the textile industry 04 02 10 Organic matter from natural
products
CZ, ES, UK
1.4.14 Wood Wastes from construction and
demolition wastes
17 02 01 Wood
CZ, SI, UK
73
1.4.15 Off-specification compost Only if the compost is derived from
input types allowed by this Quality
Protocol. This category includes
oversize material resulting from
screening such compost.
19 05 03 Off-specification compost CZ, UK
1.4.16 liquor/leachate from a
composting process
From vegetable waste treatment
only
19 05 99 liquor/leachate from a composting
process
CZ, PL, UK
1.5 Digestion residues from anaerobic digestion of waste materials – pure vegetable origin
1.5.01 Digestion residues from the
anaerobic treatment of the
waste classes 1.1 and 1.2
19 06 Digestion residues/-sludge
from the anaerobic treatment
of animal and vegetable waste
AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES
74
,
FI, FR, HU, IE, IT, LT, NL, PL,
SE, SI, UK
1.5.02 Liquor from anaerobic
treatment of municipal waste
19 06 03 Liquor from anaerobic
treatment of municipal waste
CZ, ES, SI, UK
1.5.03 Liquor from anaerobic
treatment of vegetable waste
19 06 05 Liquor from anaerobic
treatment of animal and
vegetable waste
CZ, ES, PL, SI, UK
1.5.04 Sludge from cooking fat and
oil production, solely
vegetable origin
Also centrifugal sludge
02 03 04 Materials unsuitable for
consumption or processing (?)
AT, CZ, PL, ES, SI, UK
1.5.05 Glycerine phase E.g. from rape seed and waste
cooking oil esterification
(rape seed oil methylester - RME,
waste
cooking fat methylester )
n.s. n.s. AT, SI
1.5.06 Distillation residues from 02 03 04 Materials unsuitable for AT, CZ, LV, PL, SI, UK
circle4 EN 13432 or EN 14995 in national standard form in any other EU Member State with independent compliance
verification by a nationally recognised competent authority or certification body,
circle4 German standard DIN V54900 Testing of the compostability of plastics,
circle4 American standard ASTM D6400 Standard specifications for compostable plastics,
circle4 Any variation upon the standards referred to above for ‚home compostable‘ packaging agreed between the regulator,
WRAP, the Composting Association, the organization is responsible for standards and the certification bodies
associated with them.‘
68
Only paper which has been in contact with food and foodstuff (e.g. food packaging)
69
Not allowed if any non-biodegradable coating or preserving substance is present
70
Allowed only if entirely natural fibres
71
Separately collected; in practice not destined for composting
72
if no chemical agents added and no toxin residues
73
Not allowed if any non-biodegradable coating or preserving substance is present.
74
Except for constraints reflected in 1774/2002 regulation
162
Type of waste material Further specifications EWC
Code
Corresponding EWC waste
type
Input materials accepted by
MS
production of rape seed oil
methyl ester
consumption or processing (?)
2 Waste for biological treatment with parts of animal origin
2.1 Animal waste, especially waste from the preparation of foodstuffs
2.1.01 Kitchen and food waste from
private households with
animal residues
Catering waste from source
separated organic household
waste
20 01 08 Biologically degradable
catering waste
(To be utilised only if
compatible with the provisions
of the Animal By-products
regulation)
AT, BE
75
, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, NL,
PL
76
, SE, SI, UK
77
2.1.02 Kitchen and food waste from
central kitchens and catering
services with animal residues
20 01 08 Biologically degradable
catering waste
(To be utilised only if
compatible with the provisions
of the Animal By-products
regulation)
AT, BE
75
, CZ, DE, ES, FI,
FR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, NL,
PL
76
, SE, SI, UK
77
2.1.03 Former foodstuffs of animal
origin
020202
020304
Animal tissue waste
Materials unsuitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE
75
, DE, ES(?), FI, FR,
HU, IE, IT
78
, LU, LV, PL
76
,
SE, SI, UK
79
2.1.04 Eggshells 020202
020304
Animal tissue waste
Materials unsuitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE
75
, DE, ES, FI, FR,
HU, IT
78
, LU, PL
76
, SE, SI,
UK
79
2.2 Organic residues from commercial, agricultural and industrial production, processing and marketing of
agricultural and forestry products – with parts of animal origin
2.2.01 Sludge from the food and
fodder industry with parts of
animal origin
02 02 03 Materials unsuitable for
consumption or processing (?)
AT, BE
75
, BG, CZ
78
, DE,
ES
74
, FR, HU, IT
78
, NL,
PL
76
, SE, SI, UK
2.2.02 Press-filter, extraction and oil
seed residues from the food
and fodder industry with parts
of animal origin
02 02 03 Materials unsuitable for
consumption or processing (?)
AT, BE
75
, CZ
78
, DE, ES
74
,
FR, HU, IT
78
, NL, SE, SI,
UK
2.2.03 Spoilt feeding stuff of animal
origin from fodder producing
industry
02 02 03 Materials unsuitable for
consumption or processing (?)
AT, BE
75
, BG, CZ
78
, DE,
ES(?), FR, HU, IT
78
, NL,
PL
76
, SE, SI, UK
2.2.04 Residues from horn, hoof,
hair, wool, feathers
02 02 02 Animal tissue waste
AT, BE
75
, DE, ES
78
, FR,
HU, IT
78
, NL, PL
76
, SE, SI,
UK
2.2.05 Sludge and press-filter
residues from slaughter
houses and fattening
industries
02 02 02 Animal tissue waste
AT, BE
75
, DE, ES
78
, FR,
HU, IT
78
, PL
76
, SE, SI,
UK
62
2.2.06 Paunch waste Belongs to ABPR Cat. 2 Material 02 02 02 Animal tissue waste
AT, BE
75
, DE, ES
78
, FR, IE,
IT
78
, NL, PL
76
, SE, SI, UK
2.2.07 Solid and liquid manure Belongs to ABPR Cat. 2 Material 02 01 06 Animal faeces, urine and
manure
AT, BE
75
, BG, CZ
78
, DE,
ES(?), FI, FR, HU, IE, IT
78
,
LU, LV, PL
76
, SE, SI, UK
80
2.2.08 Gelatine waste 02 02 03
Material unsuitable for
consumption or processing
AT, BE
75
, BG, CZ
78
, DE,
ES
78
, FR, IT
78
, PL
76
, SE,
75
Only with individual approval
76
Organic fertilisers produced using animal wastes by composting or more preferentially biogas method, can get approval
but they have to be assessed by veterinary institute.
77
Only if composted in accordance with national rules at a facility registered by the Animal Health vets
78
If approved by veterinary service, according to EU regulation on ABP 1774/2002
79
Only if composted in accordance with ‘national rules’ requirements at a facility registered by the Animal Health vets.
80
Slurry and used animal bedding of the following types are allowed; straw, shredded paper; paper pulp; sawdust; wood
shavings and chipped wood.
163
Type of waste material Further specifications EWC
Code
Corresponding EWC waste
type
Input materials accepted by
MS
02 02 09
Waste not otherwise specified
UK
2.2.09 Wastes from aerobic
treatment of solid wastes’
Only allowed if compost was
derived from input materials
specified in this list
19 05 03 Off-specification compost
CZ
78
, SI, UK
80
2.2.10 Wastes from aerobic
treatment of solid wastes’
liquor/leachate from compost
processing
19 05 99 Wastes not otherwise specified
SI, UK
81
2.3 Digestion residues from anaerobic treatment of waste materials which may contain parts of animal origin
2.3.01 Digestion residue of
anaerobic digestion of
materials of waste group 2
rendered fat and cooking oil
of animal origin
19 06 Digestion residues/-sludge
from the anaerobic treatment
of animal and vegetable waste
AT, BE
75
, BG, CZ
78
, DE,
ES
78
, FI, FR, HU, IT
78
,
PL
76
, SE, SI, UK
2.3.02 Digestion residue of
anaerobic digestion of dairy
residues
e.g. whey, cheese residues and
dairy sludge
19 06 06 Digestion residues/-sludge
from the anaerobic treatment
of animal and vegetable waste
AT, BE
75
, BG, CZ
78
, DE,
ES
78
, FI, FR, HU, IE, PL
76
,
SE, SI, UK
2.3.03 Digestion residue of
anaerobic digestion of raw
milk
o Material acc. to Art. 6
(1g) of Regulation 1069/2009/EC
19 06 06 Digestion residues/-sludge
from the anaerobic treatment
of animal and vegetable waste
AT, BE
75
, BG, CZ
78
, DE,
ES
78
, FI, FR, HU, IE, PL
76
,
SE, SI, UK
2.3.04 Digestion residue of
anaerobic digestion of
slaughter house waste and
by-products
19 06 Digestion residues/-sludge
from the anaerobic treatment
of animal and vegetable waste
AT, BE
75
, CZ
78
, DE, ES
78
,
FR, HU, PL
76
, SE, SI, UK
2.3.05 Digestion residue of
anaerobic digestion of skins,
hides and furs
19 06 Digestion residues/-sludge
from the anaerobic treatment
of animal and vegetable waste
AT, BE
75
, CZ
78
, DE, ES
78
,
HU, PL
76
, SE, SI, UK
2.3.06 Wastes from anaerobic
treatment of wastes
Only allowed if compost was
derived from input materials
specified in this list
19 06 03 Liquor from anaerobic
treatment of municipal waste
ES
78
, UK
2.3.07 Wastes from anaerobic
treatment of wastes
19 06 05 Liquor from anaerobic
treatment of animal and
vegetable waste
CZ
78
, ES
78
, UK
2.3.08 Wastes from the preparation
and processing of meat, fish
and other foods of animal
origin
02 02 02 Animal tissue waste
ES
78
, PL
76
, SI, UK
82
2.3.09 Wastes from the preparation
and processing of meat, fish
and other foods of animal
origin
02 02 03 Material unsuitable for
consumption or processing
CZ
78
, ES
78
, PL
76
, SI,
UK
83
2.3.10 Wastes from the preparation
and processing of meat, fish
and other foods of animal
origin
02 02 09 Wastes not otherwise specified
UK
84
2.3.11 Wastes from the dairy
products industry
02 05 01 Materials unsuitable for
consumption or processing
CZ
78
, ES
78
, PL
76
, SI, UK
85
2.3.12 Wastes from the baking and
confectionery industry
02 06 01 Materials unsuitable for
consumption or processing
CZ
78
, SI, UK
86
3 Further waste for biological treatment with [these wastes might need additional approval of
origin and involved processes]
3.01 Municipal sewage sludge Sludge which is used for compost
production must be acknowledged
for the direct use in agriculture
19 08 05 Sludge from treatment of
urban waste water
[AT], BG, CZ, ES
74
, FI, FR,
HU, IE, IT
87
, LT, LU
88
, LV,
SK, PL, [SE]
89
, SI, [UK]
90
81
Liquor/leachate from a process operated according to ‘PAS 100 only’ or ‘PAS 100 and Quality Compost Protocol’
requirements (includes restrictions in input material types and sources)..
82
EWC code 02 02 02 may include animal blood
83
May include gut contents, shells and shell-fish wastes.
84
Allowed only if animal manure, slurry or bedding of types which are listed in the UK Quality protocol
85
May include raw milk.
86
May consist of, or include former foodstuffs [Category 3 animal by-products],
87
Sewage sludge is allowed if it complies with Italian enforcement of the European Directive (EC) n° 278/86
88
Only sewage sludge not mixed with kitchen waste
164
Type of waste material Further specifications EWC
Code
Corresponding EWC waste
type
Input materials accepted by
MS
3.02 Wastes from the leather and
fur industry’
04 01 01 Fleshings and lime split wastes
[leather shavings]
CZ, ES, UK
3.03 Municipal solid waste – not
source separated
[AT]
91
, BG, ES, FR, HU,
[IE]
92
, LT, PL, [SE]
89
, SI,
4 Additives for composting [added in minor quantities (up to 10 – 15 % at maximum) in order
to improve the composting process, humification and maturation]
4.01 Rock dust 01 03 08
01 04 09
Dusty and powdery waste
except those belonging to 01
03 07
Waste from sand and clay
AT
93
, HU, NL, PL
76
, SE?
4.02 Lime stone dust 02 04 02
Calcium carbonate sludge not
according to specification
AT
93
, BG, DE, FI, FR, HU,
LV, NL, SK, PL
76
, SE, SI
4.03 Bentonite --- ---
AT
93
, DE, HU, PL
76
, SE?,
SI
4.04 Ash from combustion of plant
tissue (e.g. wood, straw)
10 01 01 Bottom ash, slag and boiler
dust (excluding boiler dust
mentioned in 10 01 04)
AT
94
, BG, DE, FI, HU, PL
76
,
SE?
4.05 Excavated soil Not contaminated 17 05 04 Soil and stones other than
those mentioned in 17 05 03
AT
93
94
, HU, SK PL
76
, SE?
UK
95
4.06 Washing soil from sugar beet
and potato processing
02 04 01 Soil from cleaning and
washing beet
AT
93
94
, CZ, DE, PL
76
,
UK
62
n.s. ... not specified
89
Not allowed within the QAS Certification scheme of SPRC 152 (compost) and SPCE 120 (digestate); Otherwise this might
be used.
90
BSI PAS 100, but only if HACCP assessment indicates acceptable risk and compost sample test results show sufficient
quality barb2right Not allowed under CQP.
91
Compost from mixed MSW is restricted to the use in reclamation of landfill sites and may only be delivered directly to the
landfill.
92
Not for quality compost. But there are dedicated facilities which process mixed waste which is used in landfills
93
Sum of all mineral additives for the process optimisation max 10% (m/m); dredged soil: max 15% (m/m)
94
Limit values for heavy metals must be respected
95
Allowed only if Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) assessment determines that adequate pollutant risk
control is feasible.
165
Annex 10: Temperature-time profiles required during the
composting process in existing legislation and standards
Indirect
TIME- TEMPERATURE Regime
°C %
H
2
O
part.
size
mm
time
ABP
Regulation
1069/2009/EC
70 12 1h
EC/ ‘eco-label’
2006/799/EC
2007/64/EC
55 – 65 10 d
AT
Statutory ‘Guidline
– State ipf the Art of Composting’
flexible time/temp. regimes are described at min. 55°C 1 to 5 turnings during a
10 – 14 days thermophilic process
BE VLACO 60
55
4 d
12 d
CZ Biowaste
Ordinance
55
65
21 d
5 d
DE Biowaste
Ordinance
55
60
1)
65
2)
40
40
40
14 d
7 d
7 d
DK 55 14 d
ES
FI
FR 60 4 d
IE Green waste --- --- --- ---
catering waste 60 400 2 x 2 d
Cat3 ABP 70 12 1 h
IT
Fertil. law
55 3 d
LV Cabinet
Regulation
No. 530
25.06.2006
NL
Beoordelingsrichtlijn Keurcompost
55 4 d
PL
166
Indirect
TIME- TEMPERATURE Regime
°C %
H
2
O
part.
size
mm
time
SI
Decree on the treatment of
biodegradable waste (Official Gazette of the
Republic of Slovenia, no. 62/08)
55
60
65
14d
7d
7d
65 50 7 d
4)
UK
PAS 100
voluntary standard
min. 2 turnings
167
Annex 11: Product property parameters that need to be
declared when placing compost on the market (Proposal
from first working document)
Usefulness concerning soil improving function:
• Organic matter content
• Alkaline effective matter (CaO content)
Usefulness concerning fertilising function:
• Nutrient content (N, P, K, Mg)
• Mineralisable nitrogen content (NH
4
-N, NO
3
-N)
Biological properties:
• Stability/maturity
• Plant response
• Contents of germinable seeds and plant promulgates
General material properties
• Water or dry matter content
• Bulk density/volume weight
• Grain size
• pH
• Electrical conductivity (salinity)
Hygienic aspects relevant for environmental and health protection
• Presence of salmonellae
• Presence of E.coli
Pollutants and impurities relevant for environmental and health protection
• Contents of macroscopic impurities (such as glass, metals, plastics)
• Contents of Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Hg, Zn
168
Annex 12: Parameters and limit values of minimum product
quality requirements (Proposal from first working
document)
a) Minimum organic matter content
The minimum organic matter content of the final product, after the composting phase and
prior to any mixing with other materials shall be 20%. (This is pretended to prevent dilution
of compost with mineral components (e.g. sand, soil).
b) Minimum stability
[propose a requirement?]
A member state has suggested the Oxitop method, alternatively Oxygen Uptake Rate may be
measured according to prEN16087-1 or a self heating test may be performed according to
prEN 16087-2.
c) Absence of pathogen indicator organism
No salmonella sp. in 50 g sample.
d) Limitation of macroscopic impurities
Total impurities (non biodegradable matter) > 2 mm shall be < 0.5 % (dry matter).
e) Limitation on organic pollutants
Currently there is no proposal for organic pollutants. Denmark holds limit values for 4
persistent organic pollutants: LAS, PAH, NPE and DEHP. France holds limit values for PAH
and in the case of compost containing sewage sludge as input material also for PCBs.
f) Limitation of potentially toxic elements (heavy metals)
In the final product, just after the composting phase and prior to any mixing with other
materials, the content of the following elements shall be lower than the values shown below,
measured in terms of dry weight:
Element mg/kg (dry weight) times the limit in the EU eco-label
criteria for soil improvers and growing
media (2007/64/EC and 2006/799/EC)
Zn 400 4/3
Cu 10 1
Ni 50 1
Cd 1.5 3/2
Pb 120 6/5
Hg 1 1
Cr 100 1
169
The limits apply to the compost just after the composting phase and prior to any mixing with
other materials.
Rationale for the limit values:
There a number of factors to be considered for finding the most suitable limit values. Some
factors are best addressed by very low (i.e. strict) limits, others are reasons for not being too
strict. Therefore, a solution is needed that best reconciles the different demands in an
acceptable way.
On the one hand, strict limits are needed to meet the following demands:
• There should be no overall adverse environmental or human health impact from the
use of end of waste compost
• Environmental impacts in the case of misuse of compost should be within acceptable
limits
• The limits should promote the production of higher compost qualities and prevent a
relaxation of quality targets (end of waste criteria should not lead to higher
contamination levels of composts than today)
• The limits should be an effective barrier to diluting more contaminated wastes with
compost
• The limits should exclude compost from end of waste if it cannot be used in a
dominant part of the market because it does not meet the existing standards and
legislation on use.
On the other hand,
• The benefits of compost use should not be sacrificed because of disproportionate risk
aversion
• Limits should not be so strict that they disrupt current best practice of compost
production from the biodegradable fractions of municipal solid waste
• Composting as a recycling route for biodegradable wastes should not be blocked by
demanding unrealistic and unnecessarily strict limits.
Well-balanced limit values can be found by the following considerations:
1. The limits in the EU eco-label criteria for soil improvers and growing media are the lower
bound of what can reasonably be demanded as limits.
The Community eco-label criteria for soil improvers and growing media include limits for
hazardous substances. The eco-label criteria were decided by the European Commission in
accordance with the corresponding Committee of Member State representatives. They
introduced harmonised limit values at Community level.
96
These limits apply to the growing media constituents in the case of growing media and to the
final product in the case of soil improvers. The explicit aim of these eco-label criteria is to
promote "the use of renewable materials and/or recycling of organic matter derived from the
collection and/or processing of waste material and therefore contributing to a minimization of
96
Note that the eco-label limit values are valid unless national legislation is more strict. Correspondingly, this
paper argues that limits in rules on certain compost uses may be stricter than end of waste criteria if justified.
170
solid waste at the final disposal (e.g. at landfill)". For soil improvers, the criteria aim at
promoting "the reduction of environmental damage or risks from heavy metals and other
hazardous compounds due to application of the product." In the case of growing media, the
eco-label criteria "are set at levels that promote the labelling of growing media that have a
lower environmental impact during the whole life cycle of the product."
The eco-label were established with compost in mind as the prime organic constituent of the
eligible growing media and soil improvers and it is apparent that the eco-label criteria have
the same aim as the end of waste criteria: to promote the recycling of organic waste while
reducing environmental impacts throughout the life cycle and avoiding environmental damage
or risks when using the product on land.
The study by ORBIT/ECN (2008) shows that when composts comply with the eco-label
limits even continued yearly applications of compost on land would not lead to any
unacceptable accumulation of metals in soil within 100 years. This underlines that the eco-
label criteria are sufficiently strict to protect the environment.
It also needs to be considered that it would make European legislation inconsistent if end of
waste limits were stricter than the eco-label limits. This would lead to paradoxical cases
where composts labelled as soil improver with the EU flower-label could not cease to be
waste.
It can be concluded that the eco-label criteria are sufficiently strict also as end of waste
criteria.
2. The eco-label limits would exclude a considerable part of current and potential compost
production from the source segregated biodegradable fractions of household, garden and park
waste.
End of waste criteria should not disrupt the successful existing national approaches to
composting. Limits for hazardous substances should be oriented at the compost qualities that
have proven feasible (can be reliably produced) in the existing best practice compost systems.
Best practice currently includes compost production with reliable quality assurance systems
and the use of source-segregated biodegradable wastes as input materials.
A study for UBA (Reinhold, 2008) made a statistical evaluation of the compost quality
achieved by composting plants that participate in the German quality assurance and
certification scheme (which allows the use of source segregated input materials only). From
the study it can be shown that with current testing practice about 60 composting plants would
not be able to warrant compliance with limits for Zn. For each Pb and Cd there are 36 plants
that would not be able to guarantee compliance, and for Cu 18
97
. For Ni, Hg and Cr almost all
plants would comply. See also Table 10.
Table 10: Possibility to guarantee compliance with individual limit vales of German
composting plants participating in the German compost quality assurance scheme.
Compiled from Reinhold (2008) Anlage 5.
Eco-label limits [g/kg % of 367 composting plants
97
It should be noted that by increasing the precision of the testing (more samples) further plants would be in a
position to demonstrate compliance. This would come however at higher testing costs.
171
(dry weight)] that can warrant
concentrations below the limit
at a 95% level of confidence
Cu 100 95.2
Zn 30 83.5
Pb 100 90.2
Cd 1 90.2
Ni 50 98.2
Hg 1 99.7
Cr 100 100
The study by ORBIT / ECN shows that other countries with advanced source separation and
composting systems (BE-Flanders, NL, AT) show a very similar level and distribution of
heavy metals in both biowaste compost and green waste compost as DE. In Italy and the UK,
concentrations of metals in composts from biowaste and green waste compost are
comparatively higher (approximately by a factor two higher for most of the metals in the case
of Italy, and for Pb in biowaste compost in the case of UK)
For compost producers in 'newcomer' countries it is expected to be very hard to meet limits
with the ambition of the ecolabel criteria in the early phase of setting up suitable waste
collection systems. A certain relaxation of the most critical limits (Zn, Pb, Cd) would open the
door to newcomers by allowing them to have a more realistic perspective of being able to
meet end of waste criteria.
One also has to keep in mind that the eco-label is a voluntary instrument that is intended to be
selective. Article 4-2.(c) of the eco-label Regulation
98
sets out that "the selectivity of the
criteria shall be determined with a view to achieving the maximum potential for
environmental improvement." End of waste criteria also aim at an environmental
improvement, but not necessarily for a maximum potential because also other aspects of
waste management, such as economic cost need to be taken into account.
There are therefore good reasons for end of waste criteria to include higher limits for the most
critical elements than the EU eco-label criteria.
3. It is possible to meet the conditions of end of waste criteria even if the critical metal
concentration limits are increased to a certain extent compared to the eco-label criteria
ORBIT/ECN (2008) estimates that even with metal concentrations corresponding to the limits
of the relatively tolerant French NFU 44051 standard and continued yearly compost
applications to soil, critical soil threshold values of the German Soil Protection Ordinance
would not be exceeded within more than 50 years in the case of Zn and more than 100 years
in the cases of Pb and Cd. The limits of that standard at least triple the eco-label limits for Zn,
Pb, Cd. Also misuse by applying to soil higher amounts than phosphate limited application
rates are unlikely to lead to critical impacts unless extremely high amounts or repeated over
prolonged periods (several years).
However, applying the limits of the NFU 44051 standard would relax the quality targets that
are currently used in most places where compost is being produced in significant amounts.
98
EC 1980(2000)
172
Furthermore, agricultural use, as main outlet for compost, would not be allowed by current
use rules in most of the main compost using countries.
Table 11 gives an overview of the proposed heavy metal limits, compared to compost limits
in the Member States for compost aimed at normal agricultural applications. The table also
includes the EU Eco-label limits and the EU regulation on organic agriculture.
Table 11: Heavy metal limits for compost aimed at use in agriculture compared to
proposed limit values from the IPTS (2008) study, all values in mg/kg (dry weight).
Red color shading indicates that a MS has a stricter limit than the proposal, green
shading indicates equal or less strict limits.
Cd Crtot CrVI Cu Hg Ni Pb Zn As
AT Compost Ord.:Class A (agriculture; hobby
gardening) Ordinance 1 70 - 150 0.7 60 120 500 -
BE Royal Decree, 07.01.1998 Statutory
decree 1.5 70 - 90 1 20 120 300 -
BG No regulation - --------
CY No regulation -
CZ Use for agricultural land (Group one) Statutory 2 100 - 100 1 50 100 300 10
DE Quality assurance RAL GZ - compost /
digestate products
Voluntary
QAS 1.5 100 - 100 1 50 150 400 -
DK Statutory Order Nr.1650; Compost after
13 Dec. 2006
Statutory
decree 0.8 - - 1000 0.8 30 120 4000 25
EE Env. Ministry Re. (2002.30.12; m° 87)
Sludge regulation Statutory - 1000 - 1000 16 300 750 2500 -
ES Real decree 824/2005 on fertilisers Class
B Statutory 2 250 0 300 1.5 90 150 500 -
FI Fertiliser Regulation (12/07) Statutory
decree 1.5 300 - 600 1 100 150 1500 25
FR NFU 44 051 standard 3 120 300 2 60 180 600 -
GR KYA 114218, Hellenic Government
Gazette, 1016/B/17- 11-97 [Specifications
framework and general programmes for
solid waste management]
Statutory
decree 10 510 10 500 5 200 500 2000 15
HU Statutory rule 36/2006 (V.18) Statutory 2 100 - 100 1 50 100 -- 10
IE (Compost – Class I) Statutory 0.7 100 - 100 0.5 50 100 200 -
IT Law on fertilisers (L 748/84; and: 03/98
and 217/06) for BWC/GC/SSC
Statutory
decree 1.5 - 0.5 230 1.5 100 140 500 -
LT Regulation on sewage sludge Categ. I
(LAND 20/2005) Statutory 1.5 140 75 1 50 140 300 -
LU Licensing for plants 1.5 100 - 100 1 50 150 400 -
LV Regulation on licensing of waste
treatment plants (n° 413/23.5.2006) – no
specific compost regulation Statutory 3 - 600 2 100 150 1500 50
NL Amended National Fertiliser Act from
2008 Statutory 1 50 90 0.3 20 100 290 15
PL Organic fertilisers Statutory 3 100 400 2 30 100 1500 -
PT Standard for compost is in preparation - --------
SE SPCR 152 Guideline values Voluntary 1 100 - 600 1 50 100 800 -
SI Decree on the treatment of biodegradable
waste (Official Gazette of the Republic of
Slovenia, no. 62/08) Statutory 0.7 80 - 100 0.5 50 80 200 -
SK Industrial Standard STN 46 5735 Cl. 1 Voluntary 2 100 100 1 50 100 300 10
UK Standard: PAS 100 Voluntary 1.5 100 - 200 1 50 200 400 -
EU ECO Label COM Decision (EC) n° 64/2007 eco-label
to growing media; COM Decision (EC) n°
799/2006 eco-label to soil improvers
Voluntary 1 100 - 100 1 50 100 300 10
EU Regulation
on organic
agriculture
EC Reg. n° 2092/91. Compliacne with
limits required for compost from source
separated biowaste only
Statutory 0.7 70 - 70 0.4 25 45 200 -
Proposed limit values (IPTS, 2008) 1.5 100 100 1 50 120 400
Country Regulation Type of
standard mg/kg d.m.
With the current proposal, 12 out of the 25 listed Member States have stricter limits for at
least one element whereas 13 Member States have equal or less strict limits for all elements.
The proposed values could thus be seen as ambitious but realistic to achieve for compost
producers in countries with new or emerging compost markets.
173
For the other elements (Cu, Ni, Hg, Cr) an increase compared to the eco-label limits is not
needed because most composting plants following best practice are able to meet the eco-label
limits.
174
Annex 13: Sampling and testing methods
Until horizontal standards elaborated under the guidance of CEN Task Force 151 become
available, testing and sampling shall be carried out in accordance with test methods developed
by Technical committee CEN 223 ‘Soil improvers and growing media’
99
.
Other test methods may be used if their equivalence is accepted by National
Member states. For instance, if other consolidated and approved test methods for soil
improvers and fertilisers are used in Member States or third countries, they may substitute
some of those set by CEN. Where required testing is not covered by CEN standards or CEN
standards in progress of approval, other test methods are pointed out in the annex. These
methods are indicative by nature and, as stated above, may be substituted by other methods in
use.
Analysis should be carried out by reliable laboratories that are preferably accredited for the
performance of the required tests in an acknowledged quality assurance scheme
Terms and definitions
The glossary is regarded to be useful for a uniform comprehension and in order to keep
univocal interpretation on test methods.
"Alkaline effective matter": calcium and magnesium in basifying form (e.g. as oxide,
hydroxide and carbonate)
"Bulk density": ratio of the dry mass and volume of the sample in grams per litre measured
under standard suction conditions (suction pressure: 10 cm); it is sometimes referred to as
"apparent density".
"Dry matter: the portion of substance that is not comprised of water. The dry matter content
(%) is equal to 100 % minus the moisture content %.
"Electrical conductivity": measure of a solution’s capacity to carry an electrical
current; it varies both with the number and type of ions contained in the solution; it is an
indirect measure of salinity.
"Heavy metals": elements whose specific gravity is approximately 5 or higher. They include
lead, copper, cadmium, zinc, mercury, nickel, chromium.
"Impurities": physical impurities are defined as all non-biodegradable materials (glass,
metals, plastics) with a size > 2 mm.
"Maturity": Maturity (see also "stability") can be defined as the point at which the end
product is stable and the process of rapid degradation is finished, or, a biodegraded product
that can be used in horticultural situations without any adverse effects. The term maturity
can also be interpreted in a wide sense, and also includes the term stability. An attempt to
define maturity could be that it is a measure of the compost’s readiness for use that is
related to the composting process. This readiness depends upon several factors, e.g. high
99
contact: http://www.cenorm.be/cenorm/index.htm
175
degree of decomposition, low levels of phototoxic compounds like ammonia and volatile
organic acids.
"Moisture content": the liquid fraction (%) that evaporates at 103 ± 2°C (EN 13040).
"Organic matter" (OM): The carbon fraction of a sample of compost which is free from
water and inorganic substances, clarified in EN 12829 (HORIZONTAL WI CSS99023) as
"loss on ignition" at 550 ± 10 °C.
"Plant response": (Pre-normative Work item of CEN/TC 223 for soil improvers and growing
media)
"Stability/stabilisation": refers to a stage in the decomposition of organic matter
during composting. The stability is measured as residual biological activity like the Oxygen
uptake rate (Prenormative Work item of CEN/TC 223 for soil improvers and growing
media), Self-heating test (DIN V 11539; Prenormative work item of CEN/TC 223 for
compost). Material that is not stable, but still putrescent, gives rise to nuisance odours and
may contain organic phytotoxins.
"Test method's: Analytical methods approved by Member States, institutions,
standardising bodies (CEN, UNI, DIN, BSI, AFNOR, OENORM etc.) or by reliable
manufacturers’ associations (BGK in Germany, TCA in UK, etc.).
"Weed seeds": all viable seeds (and propagules) of undesired plant species found in end
products.
176
Testing parameters Methods
(e.g. EN, etc.)
Short description EU-Project HORIZONTAL
Draft Standards BT/TF 151 & CEN TC400
General material properties
pH value EN 13037 A sample is extracted with water at 22°C + 3.0°C in an extraction ratio
of 1+5 (V/V). The pH of the suspension is measured using a pH meter.
prEN 15933
Extraction with CaCl
2
Electrical conductivity EN 13038 A sample is extracted with water at 22°C + 3.0°C in an extraction ratio
of 1+5 (V/V). The specific electrical conductivity of the extract is
measured and the result is adjusted to a measurement temperature of
25°C.
prEN 15937
Water content EN 13040 Dry the sample (50g) at 103 + 2°C in an oven and cool in the
desiccator.
prEN 15934
Dry matter content EN 13040- Dry the sample (50g) at 103 + 2°C in an oven and cool in the
desiccator.
prEN 15934
Organic matter content
(Loss on ignition)
EN 13039/
EN 12829
The test portion is dried at 103°C, than ashed at 450°C/550°C. The
residue on ignition (loss on ignition) is a functional dimension for the
organic matter content in composts.
prEN 15935
Determination at 550 °C
Alkaline effective
matter
(CaO content)
BGK 2006
100
BGBl 1992
101
Teil 1 S. 912
VDLUFA , 1995
102
The method is based on the detemination of basifying substances in
fertilisers and sludges. The method is applicable on treated biowaste
like compost containing calcium and magnesium in basifying form
(e.g. as oxide, hydroxide and carbonate). The substance shall be
rendered soluble with acid and the excess of acid back-titrated. The
basifying substances shall be specified as % CaO.
no
Particle size
distribution
EN 15428 The standard describes a method to determine the particle size
distribution in growing media and soil improver by sieving (Sieve size:
31.5 mm, 16 mm, 8 mm, 4 mm, 2 mm, 1 mm).
no
Nutrients
N (total)
(Kjeldahl N)
EN 13654-1
The moisture sample is extracted with a sulphuric acid, is distilled in
boric acid. To titrate the ammonia with sulphuric acid 0.1 N.
prEN 16168
prEN 16169
100
BGK, 2006:Methodenbuch zur Analyse organischer Düngmittel, Bodenverbesserungsmittel und Kultursubstrate, ISBN 3-939790-00-1
101
Federal Law Gazette BGBl, I p. 912, 1992: Sewage Sludge Ordinance (AbfklärV).
102
VDLUFA, 1995: Methodenbuch Band II. Die Untersuchung von Düngemitteln, Kap. 6.3 Bestimmung der Basisch wirksamen Bestandteile in Kalkdüngemitteln, 4.
Auflage, VDLUFA-Verlag.Darmstadt
177
Testing parameters Methods
(e.g. EN, etc.)
Short description EU-Project HORIZONTAL
Draft Standards BT/TF 151 & CEN TC400
P (total) EN 13650
The sample is finely ground and extracted with a hydrochloric/nitric
acid mixture by standing for 12 hours at room temperature, followed by
boiling under reflux for two hours, the extract is clarified and extracted
element determined by ICP.
prEN 16174
prEN 16170
prEN 16171
K (total) EN 13650
Idem prEN 16174
prEN 16170
prEN 16171
Mg (total) EN 13650 Idem prEN 16174
prEN 16170
prEN 16171
N0
3
-N (dissolved) EN 13651 The moisture sample is extracted with 0.0125 CaCl
2
, ration 1:10. The
extract is clarified and analysed by spectrophotometric method.
WI CSS99019
Extraction with 1mol/l potassium chloride, ratio 1:20
NH
4
-N (dissolved) EN 13651
DIN 38405 E5
The moisture sample is extracted with 0.0125 CaCl
2
, ration 1:10. The
extract is clarified and analysed by spectrophotometric method.
WI CSS99019
Extraction with 1mol/l potassium chloride, ratio 1:20
1.2 Biological parameters
Stability CEN/TC 223 prWI Aerobic
Biological Activity
This parameter refers to a stage in the decomposition of
organic matter during composting. The stability is measured as
residual biological activity like the Oxygen uptake rate (Prenormative
Work item of CEN/TC 223 for soil improvers and growing media),
Self-heating test (DIN V 11539; Prenormative work item of CEN/TC
223 for compost). Material that is not stable, but still putrescent, gives
rise to nuisance odours and may contain organic phytotoxins.
no
Part I Oxygen uptake rate This pre-standard describes a method for determination of the
determination of Aerobic biological activity by measuring the oxygen
uptake rate (OUR). The method may be applied to growing media and
growing media constituents. The oxygen uptake rate is an indicator of
the extent to which biodegradable organic substance has been broken
down.
no
178
Testing parameters Methods
(e.g. EN, etc.)
Short description EU-Project HORIZONTAL
Draft Standards BT/TF 151 & CEN TC400
Part II Self-heating This pre-standard describes a method for determination of the degree of
decomposition in a self-heating test. The method is applicable to
biodegradable materials and composts. The degree of decomposition of
the test materials is an indicator of the extent to which highly
biodegradable organic substances has been broken down. It is used to
distinguish between compost types (fresh, mature and substrate
compost).
no
Viable seeds and
reproductive parts of
plants
This standard specifies a test procedures for the assessment of
contamination by viable plant seeds and propagules on soil, treated
biowaste and sludge. Test sample material is filled into seed trays. The
trays are kept at temperature suitable for plant germination for 21 days.
The germinated plants have to be counted.
WI CSS99048
Plant response CEN/TC 223 prWI plant
response
This pre-standard specifies procedure to test the plant response on the
following materials used as growing media, growing media
constituents or soil improvers: Compost, peat, wood fibres, rice hulls,
coir, cocoa hulls, clay, clay minerals, expanded clay, perlite,
vermiculite, rock wool, sand, pumice, lava, bark and readily mixed
growing media. To test the plant response directly using the test
material, the test sample is filled into plant containers. Seeds of the
respective species are evenly distributed on the surface of the test
material. For Chinese cabbage, 15 seeds, for barley, 20 seeds per
container have to be used. Then, the plots. are kept at a temperature
suitable for plant germination. The plant response of the material can
be evaluated by the germination rate and growth of the plants.
no
1.3 Physical contaminants
Impurities BGK 2006
6
Determination of impurities and stones. This standard describes a
method to determine the physical impurities > 2 mm and stones > 5
mm in soils, sludges and treated biowastes. The test material is dry
sieved and the fractions of stones > 5 mm and differentiated impurities
> 2 mm are determined by weight or, for plastics, by weight and area.
WI CSS99049
1.4 Chemical contaminants – Heavy metals
Pb EN 13650 The dried sample is finely ground and extracted with a
hydrochloric/nitric acid mixture by standing for 12 hours at room
temperature, followed by boiling under reflux for two hours, the extract
is clarified and extracted element determined by ICP.
prEN 16174
prEN 16170
prEN 16171
6
BGK, 2006:Methodenbuch zur Analyse organischer Düngmittel, Bodenverbesserungsmittel und Kultursubstrate, ISBN 3-939790-00-1
179
Testing parameters Methods
(e.g. EN, etc.)
Short description EU-Project HORIZONTAL
Draft Standards BT/TF 151 & CEN TC400
Cd EN 13650 Idem prEN 16174
prEN 16170
prEN 16171
Cr EN 13650 Idem prEN 16174
prEN 16170
prEN 16171
Cu EN 13650 Idem prEN 16174
prEN 16170
prEN 16171
Ni EN 13650 Idem prEN 16174
prEN 16170
prEN 16171
Hg EN 13650 Idem prEN 16174
prEN 16170
prEN 16171
Zn EN 13650 Idem prEN 16174
prEN 16170
prEN 16171
1.5 Hygienic aspects
Salmonellae CEN/TC 308 WI (prEN
15215-1, prEN 15215-2,
prEN 15215-3)
The Salmonella procedure in sludges, soils and treated biowastes
comprises three methods (prEN 15215-1, prEN 15215-2, prEN 15215-
3). The absence of Salmonellae in treated biowaste is an indicator that
the process requirements in respect to hygienic aspects are fulfilled and
that the material is sanitized.
still under validation, deadline of validation phase 30.11.2007
1.6 Sampling
Sampling EN 12079 Soil Improver and growing media – Sampling This has been elaborated by CEN TC 223
180
Testing parameters Methods
(e.g. EN, etc.)
Short description EU-Project HORIZONTAL
Draft Standards BT/TF 151 & CEN TC400
Framework on
sampling
Framework for the preparation and application of a sampling plan: This
standard specifies the procedural steps to be taken in the preparation
and application of the sampling plan. The sampling plan describes the
method of collection of the laboratory sample necessary for meeting
the objective of the testing programme.
CSS99031
Selection and
application of criteria
for sampling
Sampling Part 1: Guidance on selection and application of criteria for
sampling under various conditions
CSS99058
Sampling techniques Sampling Part 2: Guidance on sampling techniques CSS99057
Sub-sampling in the
field
Sampling Part 3 Guidance on sub-sampling in the field CSS99032
Sample packaging,
storage etc.
Sampling Part 4: Guidance on procedures for sample packaging,
storage, preservation, transport and delivery
CSS99059
Sampling plan Sampling Part 5: Guidance on the process of defining the sampling
plan
CSS99060
Sample pre-treatment Guidance for sample pre-treatment CSS99034
The reports include the following documents:
PART 1. Sampling of sewage sludge, treated biowastes and soils in the landscape - Framework for the preparation and application of a Sampling plan
PART 2. Report on sampling draft standards
Sampling of sludges and treated bio-wastes.
A. Technical Report on Sampling – Guidance on selection and application of criteria for sampling under various conditions.
B. Technical Report on Sampling – Guidance on sub-sampling in the field.
C. Technical Report on sampling – Guidance on procedures for sample packaging, storage, preservation, transport and delivery.
Sampling of sewage sludge and treated biowastes - Guidance on sampling techniques 30-3-2006
Sampling of sewage sludge and treated biowastes - Definition of the sampling plan 27-4-2006
181
Annex A: Test parameters, upper limit values and
declaration parameters for validation for UK PAS 110: 2010
Specification for whole digestate, separated liquor and
separated fibre derived from the anaerobic digestion of
source-segregated biodegradable materials (Source:
http://www.wrap.org.uk/farming_growing_and_landscaping/
producing_quality_compost_and_digestate/bsi_pas_110_.
html)
182
183
Annex B: Sweden SPCR 120 QAS for digestate:
requirements for final product (Source:
http://www.avfallsverige.se/fileadmin/uploads/Rapporter/Bi
ologisk/B2009b.pdf)
184
Annex C: Quality criteria for digestate products from
biowaste according to German RAL GZ 245 quality
assurance scheme (Source:
http://www.kompost.de/uploads/media/Quality_Requiremen
ts_of_digestion_residuals_in_Germany_text_02.pdf)
185
Annex C2: Quality assurance system for digestate in
Flanders (Belgium) by VLACO
The quality assurance system is obligatory for all professional composting and digestion plants in
Flanders (Belgium). The QAS is based on the principles of integral chain management. The QAS
takes into account all aspects of the processing chain, from the acceptance of biowaste, the quality of
the treatment process, end product quality up to customer support for a reasoned use. The outcome of
the QAS on treatment plant level is one or several product certificates, showing that the compost,
digestate or biothermically dried fertiliser, is produced according to the criteria set up in the
certification scheme and the waste legislation. Without the control certificate, treated biowaste cannot
be used as a secondary material. Control of compliance with this certification scheme is done through
means of regular audits and product sampling.
The most important aspects of the VLACO quality assurance system are:
(a) a strict acceptance protocol
(b) process management according to ISO-principles
(c) quality monitoring of the end product
(d) reasoned use of the end products
(a) a strict acceptance protocol
Treatment plants must have procedures describing the acceptance of inputs. Only separately
collected biowaste is allowed to be used as an input. Regular sorting analyses must be carried out.
Through visual control at the gate and regular sorting tests of the biowaste being presented, treatment
plants ensure an input stream of continuous high quality. In case of non-conformity with the
acceptance criteria, the biowaste is refused, and the cause of incompliance has to be dealt with. The
quality of separately collected biowaste from households, if insufficient, can be adequately improved
through information campaigns. The acceptance of a fraction of industrial biowaste from food
industries is only possible when regular analyses on agricultural and environmental parameters are
carried out.
For digestion plants, the control of the input registers is an important part of the audit. It is explicitly
verified whether the various input streams meet VLAREA policies and whether principles in the Waste
policies are imposed, including non-dilution principle, registration and traceability,
This requires an understanding of the composition of all input streams. Where digesters accept
mixtures processed by an external supplier delivered as a blend, there is in practice no traceability to
the individual streams. This information is often not provided by the supplier of the mix, for practical
and commercial reasons. Therefore, VLACO has developed a separate quality assurance system for
this mix, to be independently monitored (through sampling and analysis) and attested, ensuring that
the use of organic-biological waste mixes meets the quality requirements of the digestion plants.
(b) process management according to ISO-principles
VLACO has set up a QAS for professional treatment plants of biowaste according to the principles of
the ISO 9000 certification standard and integral chain management. The whole chain of biowaste
treatment, from input quality over the treatment process and quality assessment of the end products is
monitored using an integral quality management system, set in place on every treatment plant.
Experience showed that a quality assessment only based on end product testing is insufficient. Non-
conformities are reported and countered with adequate measures ensuring a progressive
improvement of the quality of the production. Registration of the key aspects (dates, batch numbers,
type and quality of input material, process parameters e.g. temperature, management actions e.g. …)
leads to an auto control system that allows tracking and tracing of the products. During the important
step of hygienisation of the biowaste, temperature and management are to be checked very carefully.
Moreover, other legislation on regional, federal or European level (e.g. the Animal By-products
Regulation 1069/2009, the intended EPPO-guidelines for treatment of biowaste of plant origin) also
suggest the importance of a well-founded QAS on treatment plant level together with adequate and
sufficient product testing.
The outcome of the system audits together with continued product testing can lead to a control
certificate, approving that the products are in accordance with the quality requirements.
(c) quality monitoring of the end product
186
The VLAREA-legislation for use of treated biowaste as a secondary material (fertiliser or soil improver)
sets up limit values for the most important environmental parameters, both organic (PAH, PCB,
volatile compounds, …) and inorganic (heavy metals). The VLACO QAS is based on limit values that
are even stricter than these values, and carries along parameters indicating the agronomic importance
of the end products (nutrients, soil organic matter) as well as the physical and biological quality
aspects (impurities, viable seeds, stability). In the tables below the quality standards for digestate are
shown. Nutrient composition is tested and to be declared to the user, not regulated.
The necessary samples are taken by VLACO and dispatched for analysis to accredited laboratories
using recognised methods. The amount of samples necessary per treatment plant is calculated on the
basis of bio-waste input. When several product types are produced at the same location, the sampling
and analysis protocol is carried out by VLACO on all product types. The outcome of one analysis is
always compared to the product standards, but the decision about certification is based on a
progressive set of sample results, with quality objectives that are stricter than the product standards.
By reviewing several product analysis results on a continuous time scale, the quality assurance
organisation (VLACO) is able to observe temporal product incompliance. This can be related to non-
conform process parameters which must be solved in an action plan. Solitary product analysis reports
are insufficient sources of information for assessing a compost production plant. Compost or digestate
are thought to be not only a product, but the result of a controlled and sustainable biological treatment
process of separately collected biowaste.
Besides the analyses carried out by VLACO, the treatment plants are themselves obliged to take
product samples for internal quality assurance.
(d) reasoned use of the end products
Not only the composition of the end product is a possible risk from the point of view of environmental
or public health matters, also the unreasoned use could pose a problem, e.g. excessive application
rates with undesired side effects such as phytotoxicity, nutrient overshoot or imbalance, … Therefore,
the VLACO QAS imposes the professional composting plants to inform the consumers about the use
of the product(s), in all possible applications. This is done by an information leaflet mentioning the
composition, usual application rates, application manner, hygienic safety, …
The integration of quality assurance measures all along the production chain of compost, with strong
emphasis on product input, regular product testing and reasoned use of product output, enhances the
possibility to assure environmental and public health safety. This is guaranteed through the issuing of
control certificates for the different products by VLACO.
The assessment for the granting of control certificates for other types of biological processing
(anaerobic digestion and biothermally drying) is similar to the assessment of composting.The control
certificate is reflecting the application possibilities of the output streams. Without a certificate the final
product can not be applied to Flemish soil (VLAREA) and will not obtain a derogation of the FPS
(Federal Public Service), meaning that it can not be traded in Belgium as fertilizer or soil improver. For
export outside Flanders, the output product is still considered as waste and as such subject to
European waste regulations.
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g115g367g258g272g381g882
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187
g3 g115g62g4g90g28g4g882
g400g410g258g374g282g258g396g282g3
g115g367g258g272g381g882
g400g410g258g374g282g258g396g282g3
g38g286g282g286g396g258g367g3
g400g410g258g374g282g258g396g282g3
g894g396g258g449g3g282g349g336g286g400g410g258g410g286g895g3
g104g374g349g410g455g3
g18g258g282g373g349g437g373g3g894g18g282g895g3 g1092g1010g3 g1092g1010g3 g1092g1010g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g18g346g396g381g373g349g437g373g3g894g18g396g895g3 g1092g1006g1009g1004g3 g1092g1006g1009g1004g3 g1092g1006g1009g1004g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
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g47g68g87g104g90g47g100g47g28g94g853g3g94g100g75g69g28g94g3g4g69g24g3g115g47g4g17g62g28g3g94g28g28g24g94g3
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g115g349g258g271g367g286g3g400g286g286g282g400g3 g882g3 g68g258g454g856g3g1005g3 g1092g1005g3 g951g876g367g3
g94g100g4g17g47g62g47g100g122g3
g75g454g349g336g286g374g3g272g381g374g400g437g373g393g410g349g381g374g3g894g75g454g349g410g381g393g928g895g3 g882g3 g1009g1004g3 g882g3
g373g373g381g367g3g75
g1006
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g75g94g876g346g3
g87g396g381g282g437g272g410g3g400g410g258g374g282g258g396g282g400g3g894g272g381g374g272g286g374g410g396g258g410g349g381g374g400g895g3g296g381g396g3g258g367g367g3g400g286g272g381g374g282g258g396g455g3g373g258g410g286g396g349g258g367g400g3g894g373g258g454g349g373g437g373g3g367g286g448g286g367g3g381g296g3g393g381g367g367g437g410g258g374g410g400g853g3g115g62g4g90g28g4g3
g4g374g374g286g454g3g1008g856g1006g856g1005g856g4g895g3g349g374g272g367g437g282g349g374g336g3g282g349g336g286g400g410g258g410g286g855g3
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g68g28g100g4g62g94
g1005g1004g1007g853g1005g1004g1008
g3
g4g396g400g286g374g349g272g3g894g4g400g895g3 g1005g1009g1004g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
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g1005g1004g1009
g3
g3 g100g381g410g258g367g3g272g381g374g272g286g374g410g396g258g410g349g381g374g3 g104g374g349g410g455g3
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g1007
g3
g17g286g374g460g381g894g258g895g258g374g410g346g396g258g272g286g374g286g3g3g3 g1004g853g1010g1012g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g17g286g374g460g381g894g258g895g393g455g396g286g374g286g3 g1005g853g1005g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g17g286g374g460g381g894g336g853g346g853g349g895g393g286g396g455g367g286g374g286g3 g1005g853g1005g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g17g286g374g460g381g894g271g895g296g367g437g381g396g258g374g410g346g286g374g286g3 g1006g853g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g17g286g374g460g381g894g364g895g296g367g437g381g396g258g374g410g346g286g374g286g3 g1006g853g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
103
The concentration counts for the metal and the compounds expressed as the metal
104
Measurement of the total concentration of metals according to the method CMA 2/II/A.3 from the
Compendium for Sampling and Analysis for Waste
105
Measurement of the total concentration of organic compounds according to the methods in part 3 from the
Compendium for Sampling and Analysis for Waste
188
g18g346g396g455g400g286g374g286g3 g1005g853g1011g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
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g1007
g3
g68g381g374g381g272g346g367g381g396g381g271g286g374g460g286g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
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g100g286g410g396g258g272g346g367g381g396g381g271g286g374g460g286g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g87g286g374g410g258g272g346g367g381g396g381g271g286g374g460g286g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g44g286g454g258g272g346g367g381g396g381g271g286g374g460g286g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g1005g853g1006g882g282g349g272g346g367g381g396g381g286g410g346g258g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g24g349g272g346g367g381g396g381g373g286g410g346g258g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g100g396g349g272g346g367g381g396g381g373g286g410g346g258g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g100g396g349g272g346g367g381g396g381g286g410g346g286g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g100g286g410g396g258g272g346g367g381g396g381g373g286g410g346g258g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g100g286g410g396g258g272g346g367g381g396g381g286g410g346g286g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g115g349g374g455g367g3g272g346g367g381g396g349g282g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g1005g853g1005g853g1005g882g410g396g349g272g346g367g381g396g381g286g410g346g258g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g1005g853g1005g853g1006g882g410g396g349g272g346g367g381g396g381g286g410g346g258g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g1005g853g1005g882g282g349g272g346g367g381g396g381g286g410g346g258g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g272g349g400g1085g410g396g258g374g400g882g1005g853g1006g882g282g349g272g346g367g381g396g381g286g410g346g258g374g286g3 g1004g853g1006g1007g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g44g286g454g258g374g286g3 g1009g853g1009g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g44g286g393g410g258g374g286g3 g1009g853g1009g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g75g272g410g258g374g286g3 g1009g853g1009g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g28g454g410g396g258g272g410g258g271g367g286g3g75g396g336g258g374g349g272g3g44g258g367g381g336g286g374g400g3g894g28g75g121g895g3 g1006g1004g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g68g349g374g286g396g258g367g3g381g349g367g3g18g1005g1004g882g18g1006g1004g3 g1009g1010g1004g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g68g349g374g286g396g258g367g3g381g349g367g3g18g1006g1004g882g18g1008g1004g3 g1009g1010g1004g1004g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
g87g381g367g455g272g346g367g381g396g349g374g258g410g286g282g3g271g349g393g346g286g374g455g367g400g3g894g87g18g17g3g258g400g3g400g437g373g3g381g296g3g1011g3g272g381g336g286g374g286g396g400g895g3 g1004g853g1012g3 g373g336g876g364g336g3g24g68g3
189
Annex C3: UK Biofertiliser Certification Scheme
This quality assurance scheme is owned by the Renewable Energy Association and has been
created for the purpose of certifying AD/biogas plants in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland against the requirements of:
• the British Standards Institution’s PAS 110:2010, ‘Specification for whole digestate,
separated liquor and separated fibre derived from the anaerobic digestion of source-
segregated biodegradable materials’ (see
http://www.biofertiliser.org.uk/certification/england-wales/pas110); and
• the ‘Quality Protocol for the production and use of quality outputs from the anaerobic
digestion of source-separated biodegradable waste’ (see http://www.environment-
agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/AD_Quality_Protocol_GEHO0610BSVD-E-
E.pdf). Later in this section this protocol is referred to as the AD QP. This document
is a joint Environment Agencies for England, Wales & Northern Ireland, Defra and
WAG initiative and defines the point at which digestates cease to be waste and can be
used as a product, without the requirement for waste management controls.
In order for digestate to be used as ‘product’ in Scotland, the AD/biogas plant and its
digestate must be certified compliant with PAS 110 (not also the AD QP) with further
conditions specified by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
Specifications for digestate
In the countries of the UK, PAS 110 is currently the only specification for whole digestate,
separated liquor and separated fibre derived from the anaerobic digestion of source-segregated
biodegradable materials. In summary, PAS 110:
• sets a minimum baseline standard for digestates; some customers may require the
digestates to achieve quality characteristics that are more stringent than those in the
specification or cover a wider range of parameters. The AD operator is responsible for
checking and agreeing with the customer any quality requirements that are more
stringent or wider ranging than the minimum baseline specified in this PAS.
• requires that the digestates are only made from source-segregated biodegradable
waste;
• specifies controls on input materials and the management system for the process of
anaerobic digestion and associated technologies; the management system must include
a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Plan;
• sets minimum quality criteria for whole digestate, separated liquor and separated fibre;
and
• establishes the information that is required to be supplied to digested material
customers.
Minimum quality criteria
The minimum quality criteria for digestates are shown in Table 1, page 31 of the specification
(http://www.biofertiliser.org.uk/pdf/PAS-110.pdf). Table 2, page 34, provides minimum
quality criteria for digested material made only from manure, unprocessed crops, processed
crops, crop residues, glycerol, and/or used animal bedding that arises within the producer’s
premises or holding. These criteria apply only if the digestate is used entirely within the same
premises or holding.
190
Labelling / declaration requirements
Section 14, page 44 of PAS 110 specifies the information that shall be supplied to each
customer. This shall include the typical characteristics or laboratory test results corresponding
with the portion of production dispatched, and include:
a) PTE concentrations;
b) pH;
c) total nitrogen;
d) total phosphorus;
e) total potassium;
f) ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4-N);
g) water soluble chloride;
h) water soluble sodium;
i) dry matter (also referred to as total solids); and
j) loss on ignition (also referred to as volatile solids, and a measure of organic matter).
Sampling and analysis of digestate
For validation: See PAS 110, section 11.2, basis of this being ‘For each parameter in Table 1,
the three most recent digested material sample test results shall not exceed the corresponding
upper limit. This applies to each digested material output type for which PAS 110
conformance is claimed (whole digestate, separated fibre and/or separated liquor).’
After validation: see PAS 110, section 12.2, basis of this being ‘For each parameter in Table
3, the three most recent digested material sample test results shall not exceed the
corresponding upper limit. Samples of digested material shall be tested at least at the
minimum frequencies specified in Table 4. This applies to each digested material output type
for which PAS 110 conformance is claimed (whole digestate, separated fibre and/or separated
liquor).’
PAS 110, Table 4 – Minimum frequencies for testing representative samples of digested
material after validation
Parameter Minimum frequencies for testing
representative samples
If ABP digested material:
human and animal
As specified by the competent authority / Animal Health pathogen
indicator species vet in the ‘approval in principal’ or ‘full approval’
If non ABP digested material:
E. coli
1 per 5,000 m
3
of WD (whole digestate)/ SF (separated fibre) / SL
(separated liquor) produced, or 1 per 3 months whichever is the
soonest
If non ABP digested material:
Salmonella spp
1 per 5,000 m
3
of WD / SF / SL produced, or 1 per 3 months
whichever is the soonest
Potentially Toxic Elements 1 per 6,000 m
3
of WD / SF / SL produced, or 1 per 3 months
whichever is the soonest
Stability 2 per 12 months and not within 3 months of each other, or
(Volatile Fatty Acids and Residual Biogas sooner if and when
significant change occurs (see 4.8.5) Potential, subject to Note 1
to Tables 3 and 5)
Physical contaminants 1 per 6,000 m
3
of WD / SF / SL produced, or 1 per 3 months
whichever is the soonest
pH 1 per 6,000 m
3
of WD / SF / SL produced, or 1 per 3 months
whichever is the soonest
191
Total N, P & K 1 per 6,000 m
3
of WD / SF / SL produced, or 1 per 3 months
whichever is the soonest
Ammoniacal nitrogen, water
soluble chloride
1 per 6,000 m
3
of WD / SF / SL produced, or 1 per 3 months,
whichever is the soonest
Water soluble sodium 1 per 6,000 m
3
of WD / SF / SL produced, or 1 per 3 months
whichever is the soonest
Dry matter (total solids) 1 per 6,000 m
3
of WD / SF / SL produced, or 1 per 3 months
whichever is the soonest
Loss on ignition (measure of
organic matter)
1 per 6,000 m
3
of WD / SF / SL produced, or 1 per 3 months
whichever is the soonest
192
Annex C4: England, Wales and Northern Ireland ‘Quality
Protocol for the production and use of quality outputs from
the anaerobic digestion of source-separated biodegradable
waste’ (AD QP).
According to the AD QP, the quality digestate will be classed as a product only if:
a) It has been produced using only those source-segregated input materials listed in
Appendix B (positive list of allowed wastes, can be found at page 14 of the AD QP
(http://www.environment-
agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/AD_Quality_Protocol_GEHO0610BSVD-E-E.pdf)
b) meets the requirements of an approved standard (BSI PAS 110:2010); and
c) is destined for appropriate use in one of the designated market sectors.
In addition, the AD operator must obtain certification by an independent certification body,
which must be accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service.
Thus, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, digestates that are certified under the BCS for
compliance with the requirements of BSI PAS 110 and the AD QP are regarded as ‘product’,
thus, can be transported, stored, handled and used without the need for waste regulatory
controls.
The AD QP requires that records of digestate use are kept by the land manager (the person
responsible for the exploitation of the agricultural land concerned directly or through the use
of agents or contractors). These records must enable the land manager to demonstrate that the
following have been complied with:
a) NVZ rules, Cross Compliance and good agricultural practice have been followed; and
b) The maximum permissible levels for the soil PTE (potentially toxic elements, namely,
heavy metals) in the Code of Practice for Agriculture Use of Sewage Sludge (1989) have not
been exceeded as result of the digestate applications.
To date Scotland has not adopted the AD QP and compliance with the requirements of BSI
PAS 110 only is sufficient to confer the digestate the status of ‘product’, providing that the
conditions specified in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency are satisfied (see SEPA’s
position statement at http://www.biofertiliser.org.uk/pdf/SEPA-Position-Statement.pdf).
Digestate as ‘waste’
In the UK, digestates that are not certified under the Biofertiliser Certification Scheme are
classed as ‘wastes’, thus, must be supplied, and transported according to duty of care
requirements, by registered waste carriers.
In addition, uncertified digestates must be used under waste regulatory controls, which means
that end users must hold the appropriate authorisation granted by the regulator to spread the
digestates (e.g. environmental permit [England, Wales], waste management licence [Scotland,
Northern Ireland], or exemption from a waste management licence or environmental permit).
Information about the waste regulatory controls that apply to the use of digestates can be
found for:
a) England and Wales at http://www.environment-
agency.gov.uk/business/topics/permitting/117161.aspx
193
b) Scotland at
http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/application_forms/exempt_activities/paragrap
h_7.aspx
c) Northern Ireland at http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/waste-
home/authorisation/exemption/wml_complex_exemptions/paragraph_9.htm
Registration/certification systems for digestate
The Biofertiliser Certification Scheme procedures for registration and certification are as
follows:
a) When ready to apply for certification, the AD operator selects a Certification Body
from the two contracted organisations and requests an application form together with any
documentation that is necessary for certification.
b) The AD operator then forwards the full application form plus accompanying
documents and fee to the Certifying Body.
c) The application is reviewed by a Certification Officer (CO) to ascertain if the plant
system is in line with the requirements of the certification scheme, and if it is, then an
appointment to visit the site is made.
d) If however there is still work to be completed, the Certification Officer (CO) notifies
the plant of the requirements and when the changes have been made the CO will make a site
visit.
e) A site inspection is carried out by a Certification Officer
f) If successful this marks the start of validation
g) If there are corrective actions then these are notified to AD operator The corrective
actions taken are then notified to the CO who will decide whether a further site visit is
necessary.
h) When the corrective action is accepted successfully, certification is awarded.
More information about the procedures can be found in the BCS Scheme rules (England,
Wales and Northern Ireland, downloadable from http://www.biofertiliser.org.uk/pdf/scheme-
rules.pdf; Scotland: http://www.biofertiliser.org.uk/pdf/scheme-rules.pdf).
Input material for End of Waste digestate
End of Waste criteria regarding digestate are set in the AD QP (see http://www.environment-
agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/AD_Quality_Protocol_GEHO0610BSVD-E-E.pdf).
Digestate ‘products’ must only be produced from:
a) ‘…non-waste biodegradable materials. These are not listed separately in this Quality
Protocol.’ (see clause 2.2.2 i) of the AD QP)
b) ‘Where a digester operator accepts waste materials, they may accept only those waste
types listed in Appendix B and they must be source-segregated, i.e. they must been kept
separate from any other wastes and non-biodegradable materials’.
The AD QP’s positive list does not include mixed wastes and sewage sludges.
According to PAS 110 input materials shall be source-segregated biowastes and/or source
segregated biodegradable materials. Input materials to the digestion system shall not include
contaminated wastes, products or materials.
194
The AD QP’s reference to non-waste biodegradable materials’ and PAS 110’s reference to
‘source segregated biodegradable materials’ allow the inclusion of virgin materials (e.g.
energy crops) to the digestion process. These are important provisions for encouraging
digestion of suitable biodedradable wastes and materials, and should be particularly valuable
where a digestion facility is located near to supply of energy crop(s) and other suitable non-
waste materials that are source-segregated and biodegradable.
Animal by-product treatment requirements
According to PAS 110, digested materials shall be produced by an anaerobic digestion
process that includes:
a) one of the combinations of pasteurization criteria specified in Table A1; or
b) the specific pasteurization criteria approved by the Competent Authority (Animal
Health vet) for digesting ABPs.
Table A.1 of PAS 110 sets out the key provisions in the Animal By-Products Regulations that
can be regarded as a pasteurization step, or part of the anaerobic digestion process, within the
context of PAS 110.
See also the notes to Table A.1, page 46 of PAS 110
(http://www.biofertiliser.org.uk/pdf/PAS-110.pdf).
Digested materials made only from manure, unprocessed crops, processed crops, crop
residues, glycerol, and/or used animal bedding that arise within the producer’s premises or
holding and that are used entirely within the same premises or holding are exempt from the
pasteurization step. However, the producer shall determine the process steps, the Critical
Control Point and its Critical Limits (e.g. minimum timescale and suitable mesophilic
temperature range) that are effective for producing digested materials of the quality required
in the PAS 110.
Exemption from the pasteurization step is also allowed for manure, unprocessed crops,
195
processed crops, crop residues, glycerol, and/or used animal bedding that arises within the
producer’s premises or holding, if such input materials are co-digested with pasteurized
biodegradable materials / wastes from any source(s) outside the producer’s premises or
holding. This material source-specific exemption from pasteurization is conditional upon all
the digested material being used within the producer’s premises or
holding.
Requirements for dispatch and use of digestates
According to PAS 110, for each consignment of whole digestate, separated liquor or
separated fibre derived in whole or in part from ABP material, which is dispatched for a use
other than disposal, the producer shall inform the customer that the product includes or
consists of treated ABP material and that the user will have committed an offence if he/she
does not comply with ABP Regulation requirements that place restrictions on use and require
the user of ABP-digestate to keep records.
The national Animal By-Product Regulations in force in the countries of the UK
106
include
controls on the placement of digested materials made from catering or other ABP source-
segregated biowastes on the market, livestock grazing ban periods after spreading such
materials, records that must be made and kept by the user, and obligations associated with any
transfrontier shipment of animal by-products, whether treated or untreated.
Example excerpts from The Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2011
(SI 2011, No. 881):
‘Use of organic fertilisers and soil improvers, Article 7.
(1) Where organic fertilisers or soil improvers are applied to land, no person may allow pigs
to have access to that land or to be fed cut herbage from such land for a period of 60 days
beginning with the application of the organic fertiliser or soil improver.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the following organic fertilisers or soil improvers—
(a) manure;
(b) milk;
(c) milk-based products;
(d) milk-derived products;
(e) colostrum;
(f) colostrum products; or
(g) digestive tract content.’
‘Part 4, Offences and Penalties, Article 17.
(1) A person who fails to comply with an animal by-product requirement commits an offence.
(2) “Animal by-product requirement” means any requirement in Column 2 of Schedule 1 to
these Regulations as read with the provisions in Column 3 to that Schedule.’
* The national ABP Regulations for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland can be
found here:
England and Wales: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/881/contents/made
Scotland: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2011/171/contents/made
Northern Ireland: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2011/124/contents/made
106
The national ABP Regulations for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland can be found here:
England and Wales: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/881/contents/made
Scotland: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2011/171/contents/made
Northern Ireland: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2011/124/contents/made
196
Legislation on digestate use under waste status
In the UK, digestates that are not certified under the Biofertiliser Certification Scheme are
classed as ‘wastes’, thus, must be supplied, and transported according to duty of care
requirements, by registered waste carriers.
In addition, uncertified digestates must be used under waste regulatory controls, which means
that end users must hold the appropriate authorisation granted by the regulator to spread the
digestates (e.g. waste management licence, environmental permit, or exemption from a waste
management licence or environmental permit). Information about the waste regulatory
controls that apply to the use of digestates can be found for:
a) England and Wales at http://www.environment-
agency.gov.uk/business/topics/permitting/117161.aspx
b) Scotland at
http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_regulation/application_forms/exempt_activities/paragrap
h_7.aspx
c) Northern Ireland at http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/waste-
home/authorisation/exemption/wml_complex_exemptions/paragraph_9.htm
In order to obtain the relevant authorisation to spread the digestate, the organization
responsible for the spreading activity must demonstrate that:
a) the landspreading activity will be carried out without causing a risk to the
environment; and
b) the land treatment will result in agricultural benefit or ecological improvement.
197
Annex D: Heavy metal contents in composts, digestates
and sewage sludges
The data below have been compiled from the input provided following the stakeholder survey
in December 2010.
In order to allow comparison of the data, two levels of heavy metal content are shown:
• Median levels: i.e. 50 percentile levels or in the absence of these mean levels,
assuming that for a normal distribution these values converge at large sample sizes
• 95 Percentile levels: in the absence of these replaced by the mean + 1.64 * standard
deviation, assuming that for a normal distribution these values converge at large
sample sizes
The data are presented in both a detailed table and a set of graphs, which also contain the
proposed heavy metal limit values from the pilot study on compost (IPTS, 2008) as indicated
by a thick red line.
198
199
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600
SE Biowaste, green waste and mixed compost (2009)
UK Green Composts, only results after PAS 100 certified (2008)
BE/Flanders Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (2008)
BE/Flanders Greencompost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Biowaste compost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Greenwaste compost (2008)
NL Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (1994-2009)
ES Source separated compost (2003-2005)
FR Biowaste compost from separate collection (unknown)
ES Mixed waste compost (2003-2005)
FR Mixed waste compost (2004-2007)
BE/Wallonia Green waste and industrial sludge (2008)
SE Liquid digestate (unknown)
BE/Flanders Liquid digestate (2008)
DE Liquid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
DE Solid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
SE Sewage sludge (2008)
DK Sewage sludge (2007)
ES Sewage sludge (2005-2006)
Zn content (mg/kg dry matter)
Median or Mean 95% Percentile or mean+1.64*stdev
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
SE Biowaste, green waste and mixed compost (2009)
UK Green Composts, only results after PAS 100 certified (2008)
BE/Flanders Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (2008)
BE/Flanders Greencompost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Biowaste compost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Greenwaste compost (2008)
NL Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (1994-2009)
ES Source separated compost (2003-2005)
FR Biowaste compost from separate collection (unknown)
ES Mixed waste compost (2003-2005)
FR Mixed waste compost (2004-2007)
BE/Wallonia Green waste and industrial sludge (2008)
SE Liquid digestate (unknown)
BE/Flanders Liquid digestate (2008)
DE Liquid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
DE Solid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
SE Sewage sludge (2008)
DK Sewage sludge (2007)
ES Sewage sludge (2005-2006)
Cu content (mg/kg dry matter)
Median or Mean 95% Percentile or mean+1.64*stdev
200
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
SE Biowaste, green waste and mixed compost (2009)
UK Green Composts, only results after PAS 100 certified (2008)
BE/Flanders Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (2008)
BE/Flanders Greencompost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Biowaste compost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Greenwaste compost (2008)
NL Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (1994-2009)
ES Source separated compost (2003-2005)
FR Biowaste compost from separate collection (unknown)
ES Mixed waste compost (2003-2005)
FR Mixed waste compost (2004-2007)
BE/Wallonia Green waste and industrial sludge (2008)
SE Liquid digestate (unknown)
BE/Flanders Liquid digestate (2008)
DE Liquid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
DE Solid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
SE Sewage sludge (2008)
DK Sewage sludge (2007)
ES Sewage sludge (2005-2006)
Ni content (mg/kg dry matter)
Median or Mean 95% Percentile or mean+1.64*stdev
00.511.522.5
SE Biowaste, green waste and mixed compost (2009)
UK Green Composts, only results after PAS 100 certified (2008)
BE/Flanders Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (2008)
BE/Flanders Greencompost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Biowaste compost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Greenwaste compost (2008)
NL Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (1994-2009)
ES Source separated compost (2003-2005)
FR Biowaste compost from separate collection (unknown)
ES Mixed waste compost (2003-2005)
FR Mixed waste compost (2004-2007)
BE/Wallonia Green waste and industrial sludge (2008)
SE Liquid digestate (unknown)
BE/Flanders Liquid digestate (2008)
DE Liquid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
DE Solid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
SE Sewage sludge (2008)
DK Sewage sludge (2007)
ES Sewage sludge (2005-2006)
Cd content (mg/kg dry matter)
Median or Mean 95% Percentile or mean+1.64*stdev
201
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
SE Biowaste, green waste and mixed compost (2009)
UK Green Composts, only results after PAS 100 certified (2008)
BE/Flanders Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (2008)
BE/Flanders Greencompost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Biowaste compost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Greenwaste compost (2008)
NL Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (1994-2009)
ES Source separated compost (2003-2005)
FR Biowaste and green waste compost (2007-2010)
ES Organic fraction from MBT (2003-2005)
FR Organic fraction from MBT (2004-2007)
FR Organic fraction from MBT (2009-2010)
BE/Wallonia Green waste and industrial sludge (2008)
SE Liquid digestate (unknown)
BE/Flanders Liquid digestate (2008)
DE Liquid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
DE Solid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
SE Sewage sludge (2008)
DK Sewage sludge (2007)
ES Sewage sludge (2005-2006)
Pb content (mg/kg dry matter)
Median or Mean 95% Percentile or mean+1.64*stdev
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
SE Biowaste, green waste and mixed compost (2009)
UK Green Composts, only results after PAS 100 certified (2008)
BE/Flanders Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (2008)
BE/Flanders Greencompost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Biowaste compost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Greenwaste compost (2008)
NL Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (1994-2009)
ES Source separated compost (2003-2005)
FR Biowaste compost from separate collection (unknown)
ES Mixed waste compost (2003-2005)
FR Mixed waste compost (2004-2007)
BE/Wallonia Green waste and industrial sludge (2008)
SE Liquid digestate (unknown)
BE/Flanders Liquid digestate (2008)
DE Liquid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
DE Solid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
SE Sewage sludge (2008)
DK Sewage sludge (2007)
ES Sewage sludge (2005-2006)
Hg content (mg/kg dry matter)
Median or Mean 95% Percentile or mean+1.64*stdev
202
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
SE Biowaste, green waste and mixed compost (2009)
UK Green Composts, only results after PAS 100 certified (2008)
BE/Flanders Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (2008)
BE/Flanders Greencompost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Biowaste compost (2008)
BE/Wallonia Greenwaste compost (2008)
NL Vegetable fruit & garden waste compost (1994-2009)
ES Source separated compost (2003-2005)
FR Biowaste compost from separate collection (unknown)
ES Mixed waste compost (2003-2005)
FR Mixed waste compost (2004-2007)
BE/Wallonia Green waste and industrial sludge (2008)
SE Liquid digestate (unknown)
BE/Flanders Liquid digestate (2008)
DE Liquid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
DE Solid digestate (RAL certificated) (2008)
SE Sewage sludge (2008)
DK Sewage sludge (2007)
ES Sewage sludge (2005-2006)
Cr content (mg/kg dry matter)
Median or Mean 95% Percentile or mean+1.64*stdev
203
Annex E: Suggested other materials for End of Waste
status following stakeholder survey of December 2010 and
major reasons for non-eligibility
Material Major reasons for exclusion from EoW status
Manure not subject to
composting or
anaerobic digestion
• Manure not subject to digestion or composting is not
considered to be a waste material
Untreated
biodegradable waste
• Hygienic safety is not guaranteed
• Stability is not guaranteed
• Market/demand is little developed
Raw sewage sludge • Hygienic safety is not guaranteed
• Stability is not guaranteed
• High contamination with heavy metals (e.g. max 10%
of Danish sewage sludge would meet currently
proposed heavy metal limits for EoW, see Table below)
• Market/demand is little developed
Percentile values of heavy metal concentrations and organic pollutants in Danish sewage
sludge (2007 data, source: DK answer to stakeholder survey December 2010). Green shading
indicates the compliance with currently proposed heavy metal limit concentrations for EoW
Parameter Unit
5 %
Percentile
10 %
Percentile
20 %
Percentile
30 %
Percentile
40 %
Percentile
50 %
Percentile
60 %
Percentile
70 %
Percentile
80 %
Percentile
90 %
Percentile
95 %
Percentile
Zn mg/kg DM 341 400 515 550 620 665 728 795 880 970 1100
Cu mg/kg DM 84 100 130 145 170 195 230 270 305 410 460
Ni mg/kg DM 11 13 16 18 20 22 24 25 29 34 38
Cd mg/kg DM 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.5 1.7 2.1
Pb mg/kg DM 13 19 25 29 33 35 36 42 47 58 67
Hg mg/kg DM 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.8 2.1
Cr mg/kg DM 11 14 16 18 19 22 24 26 29 39 52
As mg/kg DM 5 56 88 11 11 12 14 17 17
LAS mg/kg DM 25 50 50 50 50 69 82 140 355 820 880
PAH mg/kg DM 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.8 1 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.8 2.3 2.6
NPE mg/kg DM 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.6 2.1 2.6 3.2 4.4 5.8 10 13
DEHP mg/kg DM 1.8 4.1 5.4 6.6 8 9.2 11 13 14.5 19.1 24