The decision will influence the way legislation is drawn up by the UK to implement European Union food safety requirements. While the in-vessel question is still to be resolved, the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has spelt out a range of requirements that will be needed for the handling of food waste for composting from the domestic waste stream or catering industry.
Explaining the situation at a seminar at the RWM exhibition last week, DEFRA official Dr Mandy Bailey referred to work by Dr Paul Gale of consultants WRc.
Two-barrier process
Dr Gale has studied pathogens from meat in catering waste and he told the audience that the health issue centred around the level of risks to animals and humans from meat put into the composting process. He advocated a two-barrier process and said that the first barrier must be housed or enclosed and kept apart from the second stage which can be a windrow. It is the first barrier process which ministers are to rule on.
Dr Bailey said she wished to make a number of points. First she reminded her audience that the legislation was not aimed at green waste. “EU and any internal domestic legislation is concerned with composting standards for catering waste and animal byproducts, not green waste. Some people may be small composters and they may conclude because of the regulations that the investment needed is really too big for them. They have to remember that this legislation doesn’t apply to green waste.”
Secondly she explained that the rules were aimed at avoiding the spread of animal diseases and she recalled the seriousness of the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease last year. She warned her audience: “Don’t fall into the trap. Because it is food fit for human consumption, it doesn’t mean it is fit for animals.”
Thirdly she said that EU regulations will set complete standards for all animal byproducts in catering waste. “It is expected that the regulations will be adopted by the Council of Ministers on the 20th September. Then it will come into force six months after that date.”
Benefits of composting
Dr Bailey said that while the existing byproducts order effectively prohibits the composting of catering waste the government was conscious of the benefits of composting the waste because of the targets to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill.
Ministers themselves are to take the all important decision over whether or not as a first stage of a two barrier process, only in-vessel composting will be allowed for catering and similar waste. Dr Bailey explained that within the EU legislation there is a requirement for catering waste to be handled in a “closed composting reactor”. The question for ministers is: “Can an enclosed windrow be classed as a closed composting reactor and can we achieve proper separation of material in a windrow system?”
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