Composted and fermented household waste are to be allowed for use in organic farming and horticulture for the first time, in a significant development for the sector.
Previously only suitably treated ‘green’ wastes had been permitted as sources of nutrients and soil improvers under organic regulations.
Following pressure placed on DEFRA by control body Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G), to clarify the situation, it has been confirmed that source-separated household waste (that which is segregated into dedicated containers by householders before local authority collection), can be used as an agricultural soil conditioner or fertiliser as long as it is processed and certified to the recognised composting or anaerobic digestion standards.
There will be controls on the use of these materials, to ensure farmers and growers employing them continue to meet the demands of the organic regulations.
Standards for compost and the product of anaerobic digestion (digestate) are governed by PAS 100 and PAS 110 respectively if the resulting output is to be classified as a good source of soil conditioner or fertiliser for farmers and growers, rather than a waste attracting disposal licence costs.
DEFRA has clarified that, under the EU organic regulation, composted or fermented source-separated household waste is allowable as long as it has been certified to the relevant Publicly Available Standard.
OF&G CEO Richard Jacobs said: “This is very good news as it opens up a new source of good, sustainable nutrients to organic farmers and growers. We must stress though that it is not a blanket go-ahead for the use of source-separated household waste. The PAS 100 and PAS 110 standards allow for approximately twice the level of heavy metals than is permitted in the organic regulation, so farmers using these inputs will need to ensure they have the results of analysis on any supply they take and share those with us before applying the fertiliser or soil conditioner.
“The issue of being able to unlock the value of properly composted or fermented source-separated waste has been up in the air for some time now, so we recently pressed DEFRA for an definitive answer to the question and we’re pleased that it has now said it considers the product to be in line with the organic regulation.”
OF&G will be requiring its licensees to obtain approval before taking compost or digestate from source-separated waste.
Jacobs added: “In an ideal world we wouldn’t have to require prior approval for this, but we believe it is better all round if there is some oversight given that there is a degree of potential for errors. Technicalities aside, this could be a very helpful and important development which will allow many farmers and growers to tap into a resource that is created from what would otherwise be waste.”
