New markets for food waste-derived compost and anaerobic digestate look set to open up in Scotland following the relaxation of rules under the Cattle and Sheep Assurance Scheme.
The Scheme, which is administered by Scottish meat lobby Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), had previously prevented the use of either product by farmers handling crops as well as livestock over concerns about the potential impact on meat quality.
The relaxation of QMS rules means that green waste-derived compost and anaerobic digestate can be used on combinable and oilseed crops in Scotland
However, QMS has opted to allow the use of food waste derived compost and anaerobic digestate on land used to grow combinable crops and oilseed crops following assurances from the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The material is still not allowed to be used on land that can be accessed by livestock, which is still viewed as a “major non-compliance” under the Cattle and Sheep Assurance Scheme.
A spokesman for QMS told letsrecycle.com it had relaxed the rules under the Cattle and Sheep Assurance Scheme so that farmers growing combinable crops and oilseed crops, as well as farming livestock, could benefit from nutrient-rich compost while also complying with assurance standards.
The spokesman said this had previously been prevented due to health concerns over pathogens in the food waste-derived compost. He said there were also issues around the public perception of the sector in the wake of the BSE crisis that occurred in the 1990s.
QMS’ assurance schemes cover more than 90% of livestock farmed for meat in Scotland and offer consumers the legal guarantee that the red meat they buy has come from animals that have spent their whole lives being raised to some of the world’s strictest standards.
Food safety
QMS said that the assurances from the FSA and research carried out by the Waste & Resources Action Programme found that the use of material from these streams “does not pose unacceptable risks to food safety”.
Michael Gibson, chairman of the QMS Cattle and Sheep Assurance Scheme, said: “In light of this, green waste derived compost and products from anaerobic digestion containing animal by-product produced and applied under the criteria specified in the farm assurance standards is now allowable under the scheme.”
Any member of the Cattle and Sheep Assurance Scheme using either green waste-derived compost or anaerobic digestate on land must ensure they have a declaration letter from the manufacturer, which is compliant with the requirements in the standards.
Furthermore, the member must notify the Scottish Food Quality Certification organisation of where and when this type of product has been used on their land using the off farm recycled waste user notification form.
Relax
The move to relax the rules within the Cattle and Sheep Assurance Scheme have been welcomed by both Aberdeen-based organics recycling specialist Keenan Recycling and trade body the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS).
Responding to the QMS announcement, the NFUS said that the QMS approval came at a time of “soaring chemical fertiliser costs” and said demand for use of compost in the farming community had increased over the past two years.
Davie Smith, chair of the New Deer Branch of the NFUS, said: “This has been a long time in coming, it took the scientists some time to evaluate everything they needed looked at but we are glad the ‘premium compost’ has now been given a clean bill of health and is available to livestock farmers.”
In addition, Keenan, which operates a £2.3 million food and green waste composting facility at New Deer, said it supported the move by QMS – as it would open up the possibility for farmers to use nutrient-rich waste-derived compost.
Mel Keenan, chairman of Keenan Recycling, said: “We are grateful to QMS for approving the compost as it will open up additional markets for compost producers and will allow livestock farmers to enjoy the same benefits as arable farmers who have been using compost for some years now.”