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Wales will host a number of pioneering trials designed by
WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) to investigate the
commercial potential for using BSI PAS 100 compost and anaerobic
digestate in new landscape and brownfield regeneration projects.
Aimed at developing end market use in the regeneration of
quarries, open cast mines and landfill sites, the new trials
will provide evidence to local authorities that the diversion
of organic waste from landfill carries environmental and economic
benefits. It is also the first time that anaerobic digestate
- a byproduct of the anaerobic digestion (AD) process - will
be trialled by WRAP as a biofertiliser.
Due to start in March 2010, the trials are supported by WRAP
and conducted by a number of partnership organisations - including
David Jarvis Associates, Wardell Armstrong and the National
Botanic Garden of Wales.
Both green compost (produced from garden wastes such as grass
cuttings, prunings and leaves) and food-derived compost (processed
household kitchen waste) produced to the BSI PAS 100 specification
and WRAP’s Quality Protocol, will be tested - as well as anaerobic
digestate.
In one trial to be conducted by David Jarvis Associates and
Professor Geoffrey Walton at Ffos-y-fran open cast coal mine
near Merthyr Tydfil, anaerobic digestate will be used to help
boost the redevelopment of native grassland and improve soil
fertility.
Managing Director, David Jarvis, explains - “In common with
quality compost, anaerobic digestate is a rich source of nitrogen
and phosphorous, making it potentially ideal for use as an
organic fertiliser. At Ffos-y-fran, we’re expecting the application
of the material to lead to accelerated plant growth and improved
soil conditions.
"This could be of enormous significance for a number
of industries, including mineral extraction where many quarries
and mines have serious shortfalls of restoration materials.”
Another trial at the National Botanic Garden of Wales will
involve the use of BSI PAS 100 compost in ‘compost socks’
- semi-permeable membranes filled with compost - which will
be placed alongside a rapidly eroding riverbank to stabilise
and vegetate the slopes. This trial is expected to provide
evidence that the technique, already widely used in the US,
can reduce landslide and erosion alongside fast flowing waterways.
Lance Jones, Organics Project Manager at WRAP Cymru, said
- “We’re delighted to see the projects in Wales at the forefront
of developing end markets for recycled organic material. The
new trials will provide evidence to industrial end-users that
the use of quality compost and digestate for restoration purposes
not only closes the organics recycling loop, but is a practical
and cost-effective solution too.”
The trials are expected to report back during 2010 and 2011.
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