1 Introduction and organic waste situation

Latest revision 07/2010

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With a population of 64 million people and well developed agriculture and food industry, the French production of organic wastes is diversified.  The production in 2004 was estimated at :

(1) organic wastes + by-products
(2) here are considered only industries producing organic wastes that could be used as fertilisers ; the big part of tonnage come from the paper and pulp industry
(3) total amount ; half of this total production is released directly in the field by animals
(4) pool collected by the municipalities ; the potential production is estimated 8 to 12 Mt
(5) pool collected with an source separation scheme by the municipalities ; the potential pool is 7 Mt (29 % of 22 Mt municipal solid waste)
(6) total production of catering wastes by restaurants

General situation and major developments

-          Despite official disapproval, mixed waste composting or „MBT“ with intended use of end product on land, has shot up since 2005, when a pilot unit in Brittany (Launay Lantic) hit the news claiming to have found a way to produce high quality compost from mixed household waste.  In 2010 between 40 and 70 new „MBT“ plants are built, under construction or planned.  MBT as a stabilising process before landfill (& incineration) has very little support.

-          Separate collection of household green waste in déchèteries (civic amenity sites) has continued to increase, whereas separate collection of food waste remains rare.  There is a deeply-rooted feeling that separate collection of foodwaste is unworkable and too expensive.

-          Home composting has continued to increase, supported by a national plan, and neighbourhood composting is beginning to catch on in 2010.

-          Anaerobic digestion is acclaimed in theory for its energy production, but many projects have failed or are failing in France so there is considerable reticence.

-          On 1^st March 2009 the compost standard NF U44-051 became obligatory, and now no compost not meeting that standard (or NF U44-095 for composts containing sludge) may be sold or given away, unless via a spreading plan declared to the authorities.  Many MSW composts are having trouble meeting the standards.

-          The „Grenelle“ environmental laws reinforce calls for source separation of biowaste, and will make compulsory separate collection for large producers (eg caterers).

-          More than half of sludge (biosolids) is spread directly in agriculture or land reclamation.

In 2003, the market for biological treatment services was estimated at 180 M € for private companies (the delegation rate varies from 75 % for green wastes to 85 % for source separated biowastes) : 80 M € for composting green wastes – 63 M € for composting non separated MSW – 9 M € for composting biowastes – 9 M € for anaerobic digestion – 18 M € for biosolids (ADEME, 2005).

Composting
the current situation in France is (ADEME, data 2004-2007):

(1) including, sometimes, green wastes, according to the separation instructions.
(2) situation where only green wastes are composted ; those data are certainly under-estimated.
(3) many co-products may be used for composting : green waste, bark, wood chips, etc. ; tonnage of those co-products is not given here
(4) mainly manure & slurry composted by farmers (for organic farming for example) : data unknown, but compost production is certainly above 0, 5 Mt/y.
A survey on composting facilities, leaded by ADEME, will start in 2005 for up-dating those data.

Anaerobic digestion
France number in 2005 only 2 AD facilities, digesting 0,15 Mt MSW. 9 new facilities are planned or in construction in the coming years, some of them with MSW, the other ones with source separated biowastes ; those new facilities should concern about 0,6 Mt (0,4 Mt MSW + 0,2 Mt biowastes). So, AD is only in the early stage in France.

MSW composting and Mechanical-Biological-Pretreatment
In 2006, 0,9 Mt MSW underwent biological treatment (MSW composting or MBT); in 2007 this was estimated at 1,4 Mt MSW (containing 0,4 Mt biodegradables).

2 Legal framework for the organic waste stream and the compost production

- National law July 1992 on waste management: waste gets defined as a non-recyclable nor recoverable reject; the biodegradable fraction must aim at being processed through composting or anaerobic digestion. The modified version of 1995 sets priorities in the order:waste prevention.
recycling and treatment . It also mandates strategies to be put in place since 1 July 2002 – on valorisation of waste, adoption of BAT and minimisation of landfilling.
– The “Arrêté du 07/01/02 rubrique N°2170″ (and “rubrique N°2730″ for animal by-products) gives administrative agreement procedures and technical prescriptions for composting plants that produces “fertilisers that are not wastes” (see below): limit values for odour emissions, etc. The plants that produces composts as wastes have to be in compliance with the “rubrique N° 322-B”.
– Composts that are in compliance with the statutory standard NF U44-051 (up-dated at the end of 2005) are considered as “products” and are produced in plants covered by the “Arrêté du 07/01/02 rubrique N°2170″. This standard fixes limit values for heavy metals, PAH, impurities, organic matter, absence of pathogens, etc. for many soil improvers. Composts can be made from green wastes, source separated biowastes, MSW, manure, etc. but not from biosolids ; composts form biosolids are covered by the statutory standard NF U44-095 (as well as “products”).
– Composts that are not in compliance with the statutory standards NF U44-051 or U44-095 are considered as “wastes” and have to be managed within higher level of control and annual follow-up (see “arrêté du 02/02/98″ and its art. 36 )
– The arrêté ministériel of 21^st August 2007 made application of the above standards from 1^st March 2009.  A circular sent on 27^th February 2009 advised local administration to be very careful about allowing non-standard composts to be used in agriculture under spreading plans.

3 Compost quality assurance

No official and national quality assurance system is on place just yet. Nonetheless, ADEME was considering such option in its strategies to promote composting and marketing options for good quality composted products. In the framework of the Qualorg programme a concept for a system with the basic principles of ISO 9000 is developed ; this QAS covers from source separation collection scheme to the delivery of compost to the end user.
Other QAS, coming from private composting companies or farming association have been put up and are spread slowly.
One of the commitments emerging from the „Grenelle“ environmental negotiations was to draw up a charter to promote more use of better-quality composts.  In 2010 This charter is still under discussion.  Representatives of farmers and environmental organisations refused to sign a charter that would officialise the use on land of compost from mechanically-sorted municipal solid waste.

4 Contacts and sources of information

VERI (Veolia Environment Research and Innovation)
Mr Yves Coppin
38, avenue Kleber
F-75116 PARIS
Tel.: +33 171751164
EMail: yves.coppin@veolia.com
Ms Laure Metzger

RITTMO Agroenvironnement
37, rue de Herrlisheim
68000 COLMAR
FRANCE
Tel: ++ 33 (0) 389 80 47 00
Fax ++33 (0) 3 89 21 16 70
Email: Laure.METZGER@rittmo.com

Penelope Vincent-Sweet
Sweet by Nature
9 rue du Saint-Eynard
38600  FONTAINE
Tel: +33 476 535 041
Email: penelopevs@numericable.fr