Quality Protocol for Compost published by Environment Agency

The Compost Quality Protocol was published on 15 March by the Environment Agency, setting out the system by which producers will be able to create compost which is no longer classed as waste.  This will enable them to store, manage and sell their composted product without it being governed by waste regulations.  It will also permit the spreading of compost to land without the need to register with the Agency for an exemption, and clarifies the regulation of compost produced for domestic horticultural markets. 

The protocol will apply in England and Wales, and sets out the criteria for the production of compost from different types of source segregated biowaste such as food and garden waste.  It requires compost to be produced to a publicly available standard, of which there is currently one listed in the protocol, PAS100.  Any comparable publicly available standard for compost can be put forward to qualify for inclusion under the protocol.  PAS100 is currently being upgraded to meet the additional requirements of the protocol and from June 2007 will be contracted to independent certification bodies. 

Compost producers now have a choice whether to opt for compliance with the protocol, or to continue marketing material as a waste under the waste licensing/exemption regime.  However, those producing compost for domestic markets will be required to comply with the protocol. 

The protocol has been published today and will come into force at the end of Compost Awareness Week (6-12 May 2007). 

To be protocol compliant, compost producers who are already certified to PAS100, or those who are in the process of become so, will need to ensure that they are only composting types of waste that are allowed in the protocol (Appendix B), and will need to keep the additional records required from 11 May onwards (Appendix E).  For agricultural applications, an online reporting database is being developed to allow farmers to enter their information confidentially. 

Producers who are not in the process of attaining PAS100, but who wish to become protocol compliant, have until 15 November 2007 to register with a certification body and pay their registration fee, and then a further 6 months to become certified. 

Compost Quality Protocol

For further information contact Justin French-Brooks