Bio-waste

Popular Name

Food and Garden Waste.

Full Name

Revised Waste Framework Directive (rWFD) – 2008/98/EC.

Effective date

The legislation necessary to enact this EU directive into UK law was passed in March 2011 in the form of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011.

However, following a judicial review mounted by the Campaign for Real Recycling, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA has announced that it will be changing the regulations because of fears that they might be overturned in court. In a statement they said that DEFRA will make technical changes to the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 to ensure multi-bin recycling systems are not imposed on residents.

The judicial review will now be postponed until c. May 2012.

Summary

The legislative framework for treatment of bio-waste, with the principal objective of separating bio-waste from municipal waste, diverting it from landfill and in the process creating energy and useful products.

How it affects you

‘Bio-waste’ means biodegradable garden and park waste, food and kitchen waste from households, restaurants, caterers and retail premises and comparable food processing plants.

The directive will affect all those who produce these materials, with a target to introduce separate collections for bio-waste. This waste stream can then be treated in a way that minimises its impact on the environment and creates environmentally safe outputs.

For most organisations the simplest option will be to consult your existing waste management contractor and seek their recommendations. NB – it is your responsibility to satisfy yourself that your contractor has disposed of your waste in a compliant manner and, if necessary, to produce supporting documentation to the Environment Agency. An acceptable document would be a suitably-completed Waste Transfer Note.

Description

The majority of food and garden waste is still sent to landfill which causes problems for the environment such as greenhouse gas emissions (Methane is a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than CO2) and the consumption of rapidly diminishing landfill capacity. In the UK alone, bio-waste accounts for 88 million tones of municipal waste each year.

Article 22 of the rWFD requires Member States to ’take measures........to encourage: (a) the separate collection of bio-waste with a view to its composting and digestion; (b) the treatment of bio-waste in a way that fulfils a high level of environmental protection; and (c) the use of environmentally safe materials produced from bio-waste’.

Government action in the UK is likely to focus on measures to limit the amount of bio-waste produced, and on backing for treatment technologies that will transform bio-waste into a combination of energy and recyclable materials.

At present the leading treatment options are In-vessel Composting (IVC) and Anaerobic Digestion (AD). Both of these methods meet the legislative requirements and produce safe materials such as compost and electricity.

The current legislation on bio-waste in the Waste Framework Directive can be found at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/waste-framework-revised/20100708-waste-consult-doc.pdf

Future Developments

The EU originally decided not to publish a separate Bio-Waste Directive, as progress achieved by member states showed that existing waste legislation seemed to provide an excellent basis for advanced bio-waste management. However there is a growing feeling within the EC that additional enforcement action may be necessary to maximise the financial and environmental benefits of managing biodegradable waste.

The European Commission is now aiming to develop proposals for a specific bio-waste directive by the end of 2010. Should these proposals reach fruition and be accepted, transposition into UK law is likely to take place over the next 2-3 years.

A separate bio-waste directive is likely to include more specific guidance and performance indicators for bio-waste prevention with binding targets, as well as compost standards.

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