With the UK having to recycle more garden and kitchen waste into compost stipulated by the Landfill Directive, this growth industry is becoming increasingly popular as a diversification enterprise for many farmers across the country, according to Tim Green, Agriculture Director for CMi.
“But, one of the challenges for this industry is that the markets for the quality compost needs to be developed,” he explains. Currently the major hurdle for this development is that compost is still legally regarded as waste at the point of production.
However, today the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Environment Agency (EA) has addressed this issue and has now developed a Quality Protocol for compost makers. This offers huge potential for the production and use of quality compost from kitchen and garden waste.
The protocol will provide users with confidence that compost purchased conforms to agreed quality standards comparable with those made from materials from non-waste origin. It will protect the environment and human health and it should ease the regulatory burden by defining when the compost ceases to be waste and no longer needs to be subject to regulatory control.
The Trade Association for the composting industry, The Composting Association (TCA) which has been running a quality scheme for compost using Soil Association Certification staff as assessors, was set up to encourage the sustainable management of bio-degradeable resources by promoting the benefits of composting and other biological treatment techniques for the enhancement of the environment, business and society.
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