EUROPEAN COMPOST NETWORK
ECN e.V.

Network for Organic Resources and Biological Treatment

ECN E-BULLETIN No. 9_2025

29 september 2025

ECN Board meeting | 23 September 2025

Meeting of ECN Board members in Treviglio, Italy

On 23 September, the members of the ECN Board met for an in-person meeting, hosted by the Italian Compost Consortium CIC in Treviglio, Italy. The Board welcomed the newly elected Board members and discussed ECN’s future strategy and work priorities, which led to fruitful exchanges.
We would like to thank our Board members for their involvement and valuable contributions.

Europe Interreg I CORE Meeting I 9-11 September 2025

6th International Partner Meeting in Sweden – Biowaste input quality and governance

From 9–11 September 2025, the 6th thematic seminar of our Interreg Europe project CORE took place in Söderhamn, Sweden, bringing together 38 participants from all partner regions.
The seminar focused on three main themes:

improving the quality of biowaste through tools, methods, communication, and local solutions;
the framework conditions for small-scale and home composting; and
governance aspects such as waste disposal systems and tariff structures.

Over the course of the event, seven Good Practices from across Europe were presented. These ranged from local initiatives in Söderhamn to prevent contamination in biowaste, to innovative approaches in Brandenburg and Central Transdanubia for improving waste quality, and practical guidance on community and home composting from Castilla-La Mancha and Świętokrzyskie.

Contributions from Flanders showcased behavioural change strategies, while Brandenburg also presented its “Bumerang” campaign and experiences with video surveillance as a tool to improve waste sorting.
The seminar also featured inspiring inputs from local experts. Angelika Bloom from Avfall Sverige provided valuable insights into Sweden’s food waste collection and treatment system, while Anna Carin Söderhielm from Gästrike Återvinnare presented an example of successful behavioural change from a district in Gävle.
To complement the discussions, participants took part in three study visits. At Söderhamn Nära, the municipal waste management company, they observed the processes of collection, treatment, and recycling, including a visit to the Långtå recycling centre where garden waste is composted. The group also visited Stenbacken, the pilot action site for small-scale composting within the CORE project, as well as Ekogas in Gävle, a biogas plant where municipal food waste is transformed into biogas and biofertilizer. Inspired by CORE, Ekogas is currently experimenting with producing soil from solid digestate, and these developments were shared with the partners.
You can access more information about the good practices on the Interreg CORE website and please follow these activities on the social media account as well.

Vlaco study visit | 2-4 September 2025

Study visit in Sweden and Denmark organised by Vlaco

From 2-4 September, Vlaco, the Flemish Compost Association, organised a study trip for its members representing composting and anaerobic digestion sectors, both public and private. Part of the ECN staff joined the trip.
The visit included six sites related to anaerobic digestion, composting and growing media. In Sweden, we visited an anaerobic digestion plant producing solid digestate mainly from cattle manure, a tree nursery using this solid digestate in their substrate and as mulch, and a waste management plant housing an anaerobic digestion plant for separately collected biowaste and where Avfall Sverige made a presentation of the Swedish waste policy. In Denmark, we were also given a presentation on the Danish waste and energy policy by Solum and we visited a willow farm producing willow compost, a plant producing biofibres from solid digestate and a growing media producer using this biofibre to replace peat.
ECN warmly thank Vlaco for organising this successful study trip and the companies for welcoming us during these inspiring visits.

Presentation of Swedish waste policy

Willow composting

1st FertiCovery Online Workshop I 9 September 2025

Advancing nutrient recovery and bio-based fertilisers: Overview and selection of value chains

The inaugural FertiCovery Project workshop was held online on 9 September 2025 and concluded with notable success. More than 60 participants attended, actively contributing to the discussion and providing valuable feedback through interactive exchanges and follow-up questions.
The event served as an important platform to present the shortlisted nutrient recovery technologies, which were selected based on their high performance in a rigorous multicriteria assessment. The workshop further enabled the integration of stakeholder perspectives into the evaluation process.
Participants represented a wide range of stakeholder groups, including fertiliser companies, technology providers, research institutions, policymakers, farmers, and civil society organisations. Their engagement reflected the broad relevance and importance of advancing nutrient recovery and bio-based fertiliser value chains.
A recording of the workshop is available here.
Stakeholders are also invited to continue the exchange of ideas in the Public Forum of Stakeholders.

New Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Proposal I CAP After 2027

A simpler, more targeted and future-oriented CAP

The European Commission has presented its proposal for the post-2027 Common Agriculture Policy, set to run from 2028 to 2034. The new framework is designed to be simpler, more targeted, and future-oriented farmer income support, with a strong focus on supporting farmers’ incomes, promoting agro-environmental practices and on-farm investments for innovation.
A budget of at least €300 billion will be allocated for income and crisis support, maintaining stability and predictability for farmers. Support will become more targeted, prioritising young farmers, small and mixed farms, and those in areas with natural constraints. To ensure fairer distribution, payments to large farms will be capped at €100,000.
Member States will assume greater responsibility and accountability for achieving policy objectives, under a results-driven approach. Early implementation reports (2023–2024) have highlighted examples of good practice, notably in Portugal and Bulgaria, where eco-schemes have advanced nutrient management through organic fertilisation initiatives.
The proposed CAP aims to strengthen competitiveness, sustainability, resilience, and fairness in EU agriculture, while contributing to the Union’s wider environmental, social, and economic objectives.

Official Journal of the EU | Waste Framework Directive

The new measures to reduce food waste officially published

The partial revision of the Waste Framework Directive has been published on 26 September. The revised directive introduces binding food waste reduction targets to be achieved by 2030: 10% from food processing and manufacturing, and 30% per capita from retail, restaurants, food services and households. The text will enter into force 20 days after its publication and the Member States will have until 17 June 2027 to transpose the new measures.

Nitrates Committee | Derogation for RENURE fertilisers

Members States approves the use of RENURE fertilisers above manure application limit

On 19 September, the Nitrates Committee, composed of Member States’ representatives, gave its support to the Commission’s proposal to use RENURE fertilisers above the limit for the application of manure and processed manure as set by the Nitrates Directive (170kg N/ha/year). If there is no objection from the Parliament or the Council within three months, the proposal will be adopted, although Member States will not be required to transpose it into their national law.

EU Fertilisers Regulation

Two Stakeholder Workshops planned in October

Stakeholder workshop on the assessment of new materials and processes which are not currently covered by the scope of Annex II to the FPR

A virtual workshop on the assessment of new materials and processes which are not currently covered by the scope of Annex II to the FPR is scheduled on 1st October 2025 from 14:00-17:00 (CET).

In this workshop the Nutrient Management Institute (NMI) will present the first outcomes of the technical study to support the inclusion of new materials processes under the Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR). This is followed by a Q&A, Feedback and Discussion session with stakeholders.

Stakeholder Workshop on the evaluation of the EU FPR

CSES, CSIL, and Prospero are organising a virtual stakeholder workshop, on 15 October 2025 from 10.00 to 16.30 CET: This wokshop is focussed on the study in support of the European Commission’s evaluation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 (‘Fertilising Products Regulation’).

The objectives of the workshops are as follows:

In the first part of the day, to present preliminary emerging issues from the research so far, including findings regarding the market analysis, disaggregated by PFC, key evaluation issues by criterion. An overview of key issues raised by stakeholders during interviews so far will be highlighted, also drawing on submissions to the call for evidence.
In the second part of the day, the focus will be the PFCs and CMCs, with short presentations and time allocated for discussions. Horizontal aspects of the FPR, such as market surveillance and enforcement, the role of notified bodies, standardisation, and the effectiveness of optionality (leaving producers to determine whether to place products on the single market using the FPR vs. national rules) will also be addressed.

News from ECN Members

New ECN Member

Engineering Firm Wellacher e.U. joins ECN!

ECN welcomes its newest member Engineering Frim Wellacher e.U. . Wellacher is a consulting company in Graz founded in 2020. It takes on all waste management tasks with a focus on new issues. Between 2020 and 2022, numerous projects were carried out on behalf of a European capital. These included large-scale technical trials, input analyses of waste, plant concepts, and much more.

20 years returning to Nature

LIPOR celebrates two decades of the Organic Recovery Plant

This year, LIPOR’s Organic Recovery Plant celebrates 20 years of operation, reaffirming the organization's commitment to the circular economy – and to transforming waste into new products.
Since it began operating, this facility has received over 915,000 t of organic waste – collected separately as food and green waste – which has been transformed into valuable resources for soil and agriculture. Over these two decades, the plant has produced 159,000 t of NUTRIMAIS, including composts and organic substrates. These are benchmark products in the market that enhance soil fertility, promote water retention, and stimulate microbial biodiversity.
The success of NUTRIMAIS is due to the quality of the incoming raw materials and the rigorous control processes in place. Tunnel composting enables the production of a stable and safe product that meets the demands of modern, sustainable agriculture.
LIPOR continuously invests in research and development, ensuring that every tonne produced at its Organic Recovery Plant meets the highest quality standards and responds to the needs of the agricultural sector.
The Organic Recovery Plant is a living example of how waste can be transformed into resources. These 20 years demonstrate that sustainability is not just a goal, but a journey that creates value and is built every day with innovation, commitment, and environmental responsibility.

Events

RAMIRAN 2025 Conference I 15 – 17 October 2025, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Managing organic resources in agriculture: opportunities and challenges

Recycling of Agricultural, Municipal and Industrial Residues in Agriculture Network (RAMIRAN) is a research and expertise network that was set up more than 25 years ago to improve nutrient utilization and minimize the environmental impact of livestock manure and other organic material used in agricultural systems (www.ramiran.eu).
ECN’s Scientific Officer, Steffen Walk, will present the latest outcomes of the LIFE BIOBEST project and give an outlook to future perspectives of biowaste management in the EU.

Interreg Europe Webinar

Webinars on reducing Plastic, Textile and Food Waste

Interreg Europes Policy Learning Platform will soon be hosting a webinar series on the topic of waste reduction.

Increased action to reduce waste – prevention measures as well as strategies to manage and minimise existing waste – is urgently needed not only to achieve EU circular economy targets, but also to protect our environment, conserve resources, and promote sustainable development.

This series will focus on waste reduction in three priority sectors:

Episode I: Plastics on Thursday 16 October 2025 – 10:00-11:30 (CEST) Register here
Episode II: Textiles on Thursday 23 October 2025 – 14:00-15:30 (CEST)
Register here

Episode III: Food on Wednesday 29 October 2025 – 10:00-11:30 (CET)
Register here

The third webinar will feature a presentation by Vlaco on their Master Composter programme.

European Commission | 5-6 November 2025

European Mission Soil Week

The 3rd edition of the European Mission Soil Week will take place in Aarhus, Denmark on 5 and 6 November 2025. This event is co-organised by the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU and the European Commission under the title “Leading the transition towards healthy soils: finance and landscape perspectives”.

You can find more information here.

Compost Council of Canada I 4-6 November 2025

Organics Recycling Conference in Ottawa

Hosted by the Compost Council of Canada, this landmark conference brings together industry leaders, innovators and advocates to delve into the latest in:

Organics recycling infrastructure and technology
Policy directions and research breakthroughs
Soil health and compost markets
Residential and IC&I(Industrial, Commercial & Institutional) Sector Program Advances

The conference offers presentations, tours, networking and exhibits.
Registrations are open now! For more information visit the website here.

Bad Hersfeld Town Hall I 25–26 November 2025

17th Bad Hersfeld Biomass Forum: "Further Increasing Quality and Quantity"

This year’s forum will share insights on implementing §2a of the BioAbfV and showcase practical approaches to improving biowaste quality, especially in multi-storey and large residential buildings.
The presentations will cover innovative treatment technologies and technical developments for converting fermentation residues into valuable products. In addition, ECN’s Executive Director, Dr Stefanie Siebert, will provide an overview of the situation at European level. She will present the latest European-level legislative developments and their potential impact on national biowaste management. Day two will focus on green waste and its material and energy-related uses. Networking with experts at the accompanying exhibition and at the traditional social evening on the first day is also included!
More info here!

S.O.S Save Organics in Soil

This international initiative S.O.S. SOIL – Save Organics in Soil, led by the European Compost Network (ECN) and the Italian Composting and Biogas Association (CIC), aims to highlight the importance of soil organic matter to encourage policy makers to develop instruments to move Europe towards implementing sustainable, climate proof soil management practices.

Sign the manifesto 'Save Organigs in Soil' here.