News from the Biofertiliser Certification Scheme

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BCS certifies 30th AD plant as European Commission halts revision of EU Fertiliser Regulations

Posted: 18 March, 2015. Written by BCS

The Biofertiliser Certification Scheme certifies 30th AD plant coinciding with the European Commission halting work towards revising the EU Fertilisers Regulation.

Yesterday the Biofertiliser Certification Scheme (BCS) certified Local Generation in Cambridgeshire which is the 30th plant to be certified under the scheme. On the same day the European Commission halted their work on proposals to revise the EU Fertilisers Regulation. These proposals would supersede the current regime in the UK for end-of-waste status for composts and digestates and would have significant impact for the UK market and those producers already operating under the BCS and Compost Certification Scheme (CCS).

Currently the UK is the only EU Member that has national End of Waste criteria and certification for composts and digestates derived from wastes. These schemes use the PAS100 and PAS110 standards so that composts and digestates can be traded and applied to land as products. These standards were developed by BSi with industry and regulators, and have been through revisions to address issues in the earlier versions. There are over 180 processes certified under the CCS which treat a total of around 3.2 million tonnes per annum and produce around 1.6 million tonnes of certified compost. There are 26 plants certified under the BCS producing around 1.2 million tonnes of certified digestate.

The EU Fertiliser Regulation’s wider scope would have included end of waste criteria for composts and digestates made from biodegradable wastes. Other European Member States saw the inclusion of digestates and composts as a positive move that would enable these materials to be sold and used across the continent more easily, however this is not the view of the organic recycling sector in the UK.

Ciaran Burns of the BCS said, “The BCS has slowly been gathering momentum and we’ve just seen certification of the 30th plant. These standards have been essential in getting acceptability in the market and the demand is increasing year on year. These proposals would have a negative impact on the progress we’ve made so far. A significant amount of the digestate would not be able to meet the proposed requirements so they could only be applied to land as wastes. This would impact on producers’ financial viability, marketability of the digestates and the accessibility of land.”

Emily Nicholls of the Renewable Energy Association has been working with the Commission and Defra to provide input from the UK perspective. She said “Some EU stakeholders want EU wide end-of-waste requirements as this will create a level-playing field within the EU and facilitate trade between Member States. However, differences in feedstocks and treatment techniques would make it difficult to implement a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. In the UK we have been running certification schemes for years and we have functioning markets for these products. EU Member States can develop their own national End of Waste criteria and they can also make bi-lateral agreements on acceptable criteria for products traded across borders.”

ENDS

Distributed by the REA on behalf of REAL.
 

For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Ciaran Burns
Head of Biofertiliser Certification Scheme,
Renewable Energy Assurance Limited
+44 (0)20 7981 0853
cburns@biofertiliser.org.uk
 

Notes to editors

1. The Biofertiliser Certification Scheme is owned and operated by Renewable Energy Assurance Limited (REAL)
2. REAL carries out a range of certification and consumer protection activities, all of which promote sustainable energy. REAL’s activities fall under two headings: consumer codes and certification schemes. REAL was incorporated in 2006. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Renewable Energy Association (REA).  For more information, see: www.renewableenergyassurance.org.uk
3. The development of the PAS 110 and PAS100 was sponsored by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). These standards are published and owned by the British Standards Institution (BSI).
4. Compliance with PAS 110 satisfies the requirements of the AD Quality Protocol (for England, Northern Ireland and Wales) or the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency’s ‘Position Statement: Classification of Outputs from Anaerobic Digestion Processes’.
5. To download the Environment Agency’s ‘AD Quality Protocol’, please visit: www.biofertiliser.org.uk/pdf/Anaerobic-Digestion-Quality-Protocol.pdf
6. To download the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency’s ‘Position Statement: Classification of Outputs from Anaerobic Digestion Processes’, please visit: www.biofertiliser.org.uk/pdf/WST-PS-016-Classification_of_AD_Process_Outputs.pdf
7. For more information about the Biofertiliser Certification Scheme, please visit: www.biofertiliser.org.uk
8. For a full list of members visit www.biofertiliser.org.uk/members
9. For more information about the Compost Certification Scheme, please visit www.qualitycompost.org.uk
10. Emily Nichols is Technical Manager for the Organic Recycling Group of the REA.
11. The Organics Recycling Group of the REA represents members involved in the treatment of organic wastes and the production of compost and digestate. For more information visit www.organics-recycling.org.uk
12. The REA represents renewable energy producers and promotes the use of all forms of renewable energy in the UK across power, heat, transport and renewable gas. It is the largest renewable energy trade association in the UK, with approximately 1,000 members, ranging from major multinationals to sole traders. For more information, visit: www.r-e-a.net