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EUROPEAN COMPOST NETWORK ECN e.V.
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Network for Organic Resources and Biological Treatment
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ECN E-BULLETIN No. 12_2024
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Season's Greetings from the ECN Team
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LIFE BIOBEST project | Release of new report
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Proposal for quality standards for bio-waste entering biological recycling facilities
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The report, produced under the lead of the ECN, proposes a methodology for the analysis of the quality of separately collected bio-waste and a control value for impurities in such.
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The document draws conclusions from the various approaches currently adopted by EU MS, including methodologies for the analysis of bio-waste composition as well as the definition of control or limit values for impurities. Furthermore, consultation with experts in bio-waste management helped shape the recommendations.
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The authors would like to thank all ECN members for their contributions. You can download the document here.
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In addition, two further project publications and a newsletter were released:
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- Summary of Guidelines: This document outlines the key aspects of the four guidelines prepared earlier this year including on separate collection, economic instruments, the production of high-quality compost and digestate as well as communication activities.
- Assessment matrix of best practices: This document evaluates contextual factors that affect bio-waste management. The assessment matrix consolidates various contextual factors, providing in-depth descriptions of each. The factors are then placed alongside recommendations and six theoretical scenarios, which stakeholders can use to compare to their own context.
- Project newsletter: Reflection on previous events and announcement of events in 2025.
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DATIpilot BRIT-EU Project I Kick-off 18 December 2024
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ECN and TUHH Launch Collaboration to Develop a European BioResource Information Tool
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The project “Integrated information and management tool for analysing the potential of biowaste in the European Union” funded by the DATIpilot programme of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) aims at identifying detailed key data on municipal biowaste management on the organisational level of the collection. The ECN and the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) are the project partners.
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The focus of the project is to assess key performance indicators (KPIs), for example the quantity and composition of collected bio-waste and residual waste, and to identify their influencing aspects, for example the collection model. Only the combination of these elements allows the identification of the most effective practices for bio-waste collection and management.
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Another issue addressed by the project is the varying interpretation of the methodology for reporting waste data to Eurostat by EU Member States, which complicates data comparability. The BioResource Information Tool (BRIT) developed by the project partner TUHH includes a methodology for data homogenisation.
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The project started in December 2024 and will end in May 2026. On 29 January 2025, at 10:00 a.m., the ECN will host an initial online-workshop with its members to present the project's objectives and activities. A formal invitation will be sent in early January.
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The project builds on previous ones, such as the Interreg SOILCOM project, in which the data collection and assessment were started. A first publication of data, focusing on the case of Germany (available in German), can be accessed via the following link.
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World Soil Day I ECN Webinar I 5 December 2024 I Presentation available
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Presentations from the ECN webinar on Healthy Soils with Compost published
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On 5 December, ECN celebrated World Soil Day with a webinar on 'Healthy Soils with Compost - the beneficial use of compost on soils'. The webinar was hosted by the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences of the University of Bologna.
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As the webinar focussed on the WSD theme 2024 "Caring for soils: Measure, Monitor, Manage", the ECN Policy Officer Aline Granjard presented the latest EU institutional discussions on the Commission's proposal for a Soil Monitoring Law.
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As keynote speaker of the webinar, Professor Marco Grigatti from the University of Bologna reported on the first results of the long-term field trial on soil organic matter from compost application in Italy of the Navarra project 2018-2023.
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Finally, ongoing collaborative projects on the mainstreaming of bio-waste management (Life BioBest) and on circular fertilisation on healthy soils (Fer-Play) were presented by Eva Lopez Hernandez, project manager of the Italian Compost and Biogas Association (CIC). An update on the Interreg project Composting in rural environments (CORE) was given by Stefanie Siebert, Executive Director of ECN.
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European Mission Soil Week 2024 I 12-13 Nov 2024
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2nd Soil Mission Week- Recordings and presentations published
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The second edition of the European Mission Soil Week 2024 concluded successfully. It was held on 12 and 13 November 2024 in Brussels, followed by a dedicated side event for the Mission Soil projects on 14 November.
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This edition of the Mission Soil Week brought together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, farmers and other key stakeholders to build momentum for ongoing efforts to improve soil health. It provided a platform to showcase the latest achievements of the Mission Soil, including the launch of the first 25 Mission Soil living labs, and to present the results of Mission-funded projects. Presentations and recordings are now available here:
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News from the European Commission
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Update of the Bioeconomy Strategy
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During a meeting with agriculture ministers on 9 December, the Commissioner for the Environment Jessika Roswall unveiled the four pillars on which she intends to build a new Bioeconomy Strategy.
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The aim of updating the 2012 Bioeconomy Strategy is to encourage innovation, scale production of biomaterials sustainably and exploit synergies with the circular economy. For this, the Commission wants to retain biomass in the economy as long as possible before it is used for energy production, thereby maximising the use of secondary feedstock such as food and farming waste. A set of bioeconomy sectors and products will be identified and prioritised.
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The four pillars outlined by Jessika Roswall are as follows:
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- Biomass as a “valuable resource”,
- An industry committed to delivering sustainable products and services,
- Land stewardship by farmers and foresters,
- Young innovators.
The Commissioner was pleased to note that many ministers had shown interest and provided positive feedback during the meeting, and she stated that she will conduct broad consultations with stakeholders. The updated Strategy is expected to be published by the end of 2025.
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Interinstitutional negotiations: no deal by the end of the year
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The negotiators failed to reach an agreement during the second session of trilogue on 12 December, postponing the talks until January.
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The main points of disagreement between the Parliament and the Council related to sustainable soil management obligations (Article 10) and sustainable soil management principles (Annex III). Indeed, the Parliament wants to remove nearly all the obligations related to sustainable soil management, while the Council would prefer to stick to the Commission’s proposal. The situation is the same for the sustainable soil management principles, which the Council wants to retain as a voluntary tool whereas the Parliament has deleted them from its position. It seems that it was the aim of the right-wing political group EPP to push the negotiations towards January, when Poland will take over the Council presidency, currently led by an EPP leader.
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EU Certification Framework for Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF)
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Publication in the Official Journal
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The Regulation introducing a Union certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products has been officially published on 6 December.
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The Commission is currently drafting the certification methodology for agriculture to implement this Regulation. The Regulation is available in all official languages here. The Parliament published a briefing on CRCF here.
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Guidelines for Circular Fertiliser Producer
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In the framework of the EU project FER-PLAY, the Italian Composting and Biogas Association (CIC) has led the elaboration of a document addressed to the circular fertiliser producers, which has been designed as a compilation of messages and strategies that may contribute to solve the main hurdles that they encounter when approaching the market. It has been structured in three main blocks of recommendations focussing on: (1) successful strategies to enhance the commercialisation and market value of the fertiliser product, (2) instruments to build trust on the end-user and on the general society, (3) considerations to overcome barriers for the settlement of the production facility.
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The document is available here.
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For more information on the FER-PLAY project, visit the website.
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Bin2Bean project | From biowaste to soil
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Project publishes handbook of recommendations and good practices from a European perspective
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The goal of this report is to establish the status quo of existing knowledge, approaches, and solutions on the entire value chain of bio-waste management, from separation at source and collection to the recycling process and the use of resulting soil improvers into soils.
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The report also showcases good practices, results, and concrete examples from cities, regions, or areas with different local contexts.
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The ECN’s Managing Director, Stefanie Siebert, and Scientific Officer, Steffen Walk, contributed to the development of this handbook through a stakeholder interview.
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USCC’s Compost Congress I 27-30 January 2025
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COMPOST2025
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The USCC’s Annual Conference and Tradeshow is the premiere professional meeting for composting, organics recycling, and related topics. It will take place in Phoenix, Arizona from January 27th-30th 2025. It is a premier networking event for the composting industry with 100+ exhibitors.
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Click here for more information and to register!
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FER-PLAY I 18-19 February 2025
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Opportunities and challenges ahead
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Circular fertilisers help us protect our soils and ecosystems, decrease EU dependence on fertiliser imports, and improve resource efficiency. However, there is a lack of understanding on the full socio-economic and environmental benefits of circular fertilisers. The adaptation of the existing technical and legal framework as well as targeted support to innovation on nutrient recycling, will facilitate the broader use and production of circular fertilisers across Europe. Circular fertiliser producers, farmers, civil society organisations, academia and policymakers will get together to discuss the state-of-play and the future of circular fertilisers in Europe.
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Click here for the full program and more information.
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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.
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Sign the manifesto 'Save Organigs in Soil' here.
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ECN-QAS Trade Mark No 011007168 Trade mark for certified quality assurance organisations, compost and digestate products according to ECN-QAS Website: www.ecn-qas.eu
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