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Category Archives: Organic Waste

Albion’s ABC of Waste Management – N – Non-Hazardous Soil Waste

Albion Environmental News, Environmental Risk Assessment, Guidances, Organic Waste, Regulations, Soil Waste Classification, Waste Management

Albion Environmental provide training and advice to ensure your business is compliant and reduce your waste disposal costs.  Do you produce, manage or handle waste soils? Are you aware of your legal obligations? Find out more and sign up for one of our courses now.

Scotland produces approximately 11.6 million tonnes of controlled waste per annum and approximately 4.3 million tonnes of this is waste soil.

If you produce waste soil, to comply with the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 and the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations you must:

  • Apply the waste hierarchy to the management of your soil waste
  • Ensure your waste is transferred to someone authorised to receive it
  • Complete a waste transfer note
  • Describe the waste accurately
  • Take measures to ensure that your waste does not cause pollution or harm to human health

While most businesses will have their waste transfer note paperwork, in our experience, many do not fully complete all of the above steps.

Why should you take time to consider this?

  1. Financial Benefits – By ensuring the waste hierarchy has been applied and soils classified correctly you could reduce the volume of waste soil you generate and its associated cost for disposal.
  • Environmental Benefits – You could reduce the volume of material going to landfill, help identify greater opportunities to reuse soils and lower your carbon footprint.
  • Legal Compliance – It is a legal requirement

What Can Albion Do?

Albion can provide those who produce, handle and manage waste soils with a range of services to comply with your Duty of Care Requirements, including:

  • Bespoke training to help your staff understand their Duty of Care Obligations
  • Sampling and assessment of soil waste
  • Soil waste classification in accordance with WM3 Guidance
  • Soil reuse assessments
  • Development of soil management plans

The results of the above will help your business demonstrate it is complaint and can generate significant cost savings.

To find out more or to have an informal chat please contact Andrew Howlett.

Albion’s ABC’s of Waste Management – A

Albion Environmental News, Anaerobic Digestion Facility, Organic Waste

 A – Anaerobic Digestion (AD)

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a natural process where in the absence of oxygen, micro-organisms/methanogens break down organic, biodegradable matter to create biogas and nutrient rich fertiliser. The process is used to treat organic waste such as food waste, waste water and animal manure. The biogas that is harvested can be used to produce heat and electricity or alternatively it can be treated to create biomethane which can be fed direct to the national grid. There are two methods of anaerobic digestion, mesophilic which operates around 35-40 degrees centigrade and thermophilic which can reach up to 60 degrees centigrade and the method used is determined by the feedstock that is to be processed. A AD Plant Albion Environmental have assisted anaerobic digestion plants to ensure that if they accept animal by-products (ABPs) and / or catering waste, that they are compliant with the Animal by Product regulations ensuring that the end products are safe. For further information on Anaerobic Digestion please visit ‘Anaerobic Digestion and Biosources Association http://adbioresources.org/ or the Biogass Association http://www.biogas.org.uk/

Updates to BSI PAS110

Organic Waste

Updates to BSI PAS110

The Organics Recycling Group recently ran a workshop which focused on the requirements of the new BSI PAS 110, the new AD Quality Protocol and the Biofertiliser Certification Scheme (BCS) Rules.

Albion Environmental Ltd attended this workshop and can advise that a copy of the new standards are due to be released very soon and the transitional steps will be: 

  • 4 months grace period from date of release.
  • AD operators can choose to be inspected against the old PAS for 4 months after the release.
  • After the end of this period operators can only be inspected against new PAS 110.

A link to the BSI PAS110 updates will be added to our website as soon as they become available.

Courtauld Commitment 2: improving resource efficiency and reducing the carbon impact of the UK grocery sector

Organic Waste, Sustainability, ,

The Courtauld Commitment is a voluntary agreement aimed at improving resource efficiency and reducing the carbon impact of the UK grocery sector.

The Commitment helps deliver the UK governments’ policy goal of a ‘circular economy’ and the objectives of the Climate Change Act to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. Efficiencies made through the Courtauld Commitment benefit the grocery sector, consumers and the economy. This was a continuation of the original Courtauld Commitment and ran from 2010 to December 2012.

The Courtauld Commitment 2 helped businesses, consumers and local authorities to save money, improve performance and reduce their carbon footprint.

It specifically helped businesses to:

  • Reduce costs.
  • Improve the resource efficiency of products and their packaging.
  • Better position organisations for a carbon-constrained future.
  • Deliver against consumer expectations.
  • Help drive innovation in the sector.

The second phase of the Courtauld Commitment, a voluntary agreement funded by the UK governments and delivered by WRAP1, set out to improve resource efficiency and reduce waste within the UK grocery sector from 2010 to 2012 inclusive. It aimed to achieve three targets: to reduce household food and drink waste, supply chain product waste and the carbon impact of packaging.

Packaging target was achieved

The carbon impact of grocery packaging was reduced by 10.0% compared to the target of 10%. Grocery packaging weight also reduced by 10.7%.

Household food and drink waste target was narrowly missed

An estimated 3.7% absolute reduction in total household food waste2 was achieved (270,000 tonnes per year) against a target of 4% (92% of the target was achieved). However avoidable household food waste reduced by 5.3%. This will have saved consumers £700 million and local authorities £20 million a year in 2012. The carbon savings associated with the reduction in avoidable household food waste amounted to around 930,000 tonnes CO2eq a year.

Supply chain product and packaging waste target was exceeded

Traditional grocery product and packaging waste in the grocery supply chain was reduced by 7.4%, exceeding the 5% target. Supply chain waste decreased by 217,000 tonnes per year over the period.

For further information please follow the link: WRAP Results for Courtauld Commitment 2

Source: WRAP