EUROPEAN COMPOST NETWORK
ECN e.V.



Network for Organic Resources and Biological Treatment
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ECN E-BULLETIN No. 8_2022
28 July 2022
EP Intergroup & ECN Policy Event

Compost and Digestate in the Circular Bioeconomy

The report for our online policy event “Compost and Digestate in the Circular Bioeconomy: Healthy Soil for Healthy Life” hosted by MEP Sarah Wiener and organised together with the EP Intergroup on “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development” is out now! We would like to thank everyone that participated especially the panellists and hosts of the events. Feel free to look up the insightful presentation of the events' key speaker Dr. Jane Gilbert presenting ECN's new Data Report 2022 here.

Please click here to access all webinar documents: the summary report of the webinar, the final agenda, the recording and the power points of the speakers.
Please click here to access the full ECN data report 2022 and here for the summary of the report.
IGCS Summer School I Panel discussion 26 August 2022

Sustainable Carbon Cycles and Healthy Soils

On 26th August 2022 Dr. Stefanie Siebert, Executive Director of ECN, contributed to the panel discussion 'Contribution on the waste management sector to low carbon economy, challenges and possible solutions' by emphasizing the role that separate collection and recycling of bio-waste plays by providing high-quality compost and digestate for improving soil fertility.
IGCS Summer School 2022
The panel discussion took part during the International Summer School 2022 'Sustainable Waste Management in the Nexus of Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy' of the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability from 18 to 28 July 2022.
Food loss and waste are generated at multiple stages within the food supply chain at different magnitudes. Globally, the major contributors to food waste are households (61%), food service industries (27%), and retail (12%). Improper management of food waste (at each step) in the food supply chain contributes to 3% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Additionally, the improper disposal of agri-residues via open field burning results in both CO2 and non-CO2 GHG emissions like CH4 and NOx. While anaerobic digestion is a matured process to extract bioenergy from biodegradable matter, there are still some bottlenecks in realizing the technology in a widespread manner and on a large scale. Moreover, the digestate is also a source of carbon that can be utilized either as an organic manure for soil amendment or to generate biofuels. It is estimated by the ECN that up to 3.5 million tons of CO2 equivalents are saved per year by the compost generated by the bio-waste sector, which aids in effective soil carbon sequestration. Novel approaches are also being developed to convert agri-residues and segregated biodegradable wastes to novel materials/bio-products that are sustainable with a carefully tuned end-of-life. This panel enlightened on the circular approaches to achieve a low carbon bioeconomy with the biodegradable wastes.
The ECN presentation 'Sustainable Carbon Cycles and Healthy Soils' for in can be accessed here.

Further Information:
ECN Position Paper on the Role of Organic Waste derived Soil Improvers and Organic Fertilizers with the Carbon Farming Initative - click here
ECN Position Paper Healthy Soil - Healthy Life: Impact Assesment Soil Health Law - click here
ECN Guidance on Separate Collection - The untapped potential and steps forward for separate collection of household food waste for high-quality recycling - click here
EU Fertilising Products Regulation I 16 July 2022

Harmonised End-of-Waste Criteria for Compost and Digestate in place

On July 16th, 2022 the EU Fertilising Products Regulation entered into force. Within this regulation harmonised end-of-waste criteria for compost and digestate from separately collected biowaste are defined. Now, compost and digestate can be placed as component materials in CE marked fertilisers, soil improvers, and growing media on the European market.
Fertiliser Regulation
The revision of the EU Fertiliser Regulation was aimed to
  • boost the recycling of organic matter from biowaste within the EU Circular Economy;
  • integrate organic fertilising products into the scope of the new regulation;
  • introduce harmonised EU rules for products diverting from organic waste materials;
  • create access to CE marking and free trade for organic fertilising products across the EU.
We would like to thank the team of DG Grow of the European Commission for their effort and engagement in this large body of work and for bringing the interests of all member states, the members of the European Parliament and stakeholders together.
The latest version of the EU Fertilising Products Regulation can be accessed here.

Blue Guide on the implementation of product rules

On June 29th, 2022 the Commission published the ‘Blue Guide on the implementation of the product rules 2022’. The Guide is meant for a better understanding of EU product rules and facilitation of their uniform application across sectors throughout the Single Market.
The product rules are aligned with the New Legislative Framework, which covers for instance toys, measuring instruments, radio equipment, low voltage electrical equipment, medical devices, and fertilising products. The Blue Guide also provides explanations and advice regarding the European conformity assessment system, the accreditation of laboratories, the CE marking, and market surveillance.
The Blue Guide is a non-binding instrument and it was published in 2000. It has been subsequently updated twice, in 2014 and 2016. The current revision is a substantial update and takes into account developments that have come up since 2016, for example, related to the Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. It also elaborates on specific features such as distance sales, making products available on the market, subject to physical modifications or software updates, and the assessment of conformity assessment bodies.

The Blue Guide on the implementation of the product rules 2022 can be accessed here.
EU Commission I Deadline 16 August 2022

Public consultation on the revision of the Waste Framework Directive

The European Commission is carrying out an impact assessment in preparation for the revision of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD). The objectives of the revision are to limit waste generation, increase re-use, and increase cost-efficient preparation for re-use and quality recycling, including for waste oils and textiles.
The revision will explore opportunities for simplification to make the legislation easy-to-follow and reduce the burden on citizens and businesses. As part of this impact assessment, the Commission will also examine policy options related to the setting of EU-level targets for food waste reduction. The EU Farm to Fork Strategy calls for the establishment of such targets. In this context, the Commission is carrying out a public consultation to collect additional evidence on existing performance; seek opinions and insights about the problem, the feasibility and possible impacts (economic, social, and environmental) of alternative actions (including what actions are possible ); gather examples of best practices and views on the subsidiarity of possible actions.

Please take part in the public consultation here.
Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition (GSOIL4N) I 26.07 - 29.07.2022

Documentation for the GSOIL4N will be available

The Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition (GSOIL4N) is being held right now. The Symposiums aim is to bring science and policy together to review the status and challenges of soil fertility in relation to crop, animal and human nutrition. The Symposium is expected to identify critical knowledge gaps and provide the basis for discussion among policymakers, food producers, scientists, the fertilizer industry, practitioners, and other stakeholders on the creation of solutions that can provide more nutritious agri-food systems for enhanced human health and wellbeing while protecting the environment. 

Click here to access the presentations, documents and the recordings, that will be available soon!

News from ECN Members

LIPOR I Portugal

16,01% Increase of Selectively Collected Biowaste

The LIPOR Project managed to create a waste management system, with environmental standards of international excellence, which eradicated all dumps, reduced waste landfilling to minimum values and practically valorises 100% of the waste produced, increasing the quality of life of more than 1 million inhabitants of the Greater Porto area. In September 2022 LIPOR received 22.802,75 tons of selectively collected biowaste, which represents an increase of 16,01% compared to 2021. This can be attributed to the effort made in the implementation of more door-to-door selective collection, proximity containers with conditioned access areas and the return of the activity of the restaurants, coffee shops and canteens. LIPOR and its Municipalities want to continue investing in prevention, reuse, recycling, energy recovery, decarbonisation and investing in increasingly modern systems and infrastructures for waste treatment, and the consequent elimination of landfills.

Click here to access the full press release!

Events

BGK Humustag I 06 October 2022

BGK Humustag

This event will be held in German. Click here for more information.
Austrian Compost Congess I 3-4 November 2022

1st Austrian Compost Congress - Register now

The Compost & Biogas Association Austria is organizing its first Austrian Compost Congress. Our industry is currently facing challenging times and with this top‐class specialist congress we want
to offer composting plant operators the opportunity to stay up to date on important special topics.
In addition, the leading technology providers will be there in order to network with the specialist
industry in the best possible way at this congress.
Current challenges and central topics will be:
  • Law/Quality Assurance
  • State of the art
  • Microplastics/status of biodegradable materials
  • Technology for removing impurities
  • Biowaste fermentation and composting technology
Click here for more information.
Biogas Convention I 07-11 November 2022

BIOGAS Digital Convention 2022

The BIOGAS Convention (conference part) will be organised as an online event this year from 07-11 November 2022. In addition to the German lectures, a parallel English programme will be offered. Afterwards, the trade association will set up its joint stand at the EnergyDecentral trade fair in Hanover from 15-18 November 2022 and present lectures on biogas as part of the exhibitor forum.
Click here for more information!

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.

European Compost Network ECN e.V.
Im Dohlenbruch 11, D-44795 Bochum
T: +49 (0) 234 438 9447
Email: info@compostnetwork.info
Website: www.compostnetwork.info
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EU Transparency Register: 26513411360-51

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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

ECN-QAS
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