Harmonizing and optimising composting plants performances in Europe

Expected Outcome

Successful proposals should contribute to a clean, competitive and circular economy and sustainable bioeconomy, through the involvement of waste management operators, enabling the deployment of innovative circular bio-based materials and more sustainable approaches for managing waste materials.

Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:

• local authorities and operators responsible for the waste management improve the territorial deployment of individual or centralised composting plants;
• waste management operators in the EU and Associated Countries share best practices on harmonized performances of composting plants and the optimization of their environmental performances reducing the impacts on air/water/soil.

Scope

From 31 December 2023, EU Member States must collect bio-waste separately. The Waste Framework Directive allows waste which complies with relevant standards for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation, to be collected together with bio-waste. For example, the collection of bio-waste with industrially compostable plastic bags is encouraged (Communication on “EU policy framework on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics” COM(2022)). However, industrial composting facilities in the EU are often unable to biodegrade such packaging due to different performances of composting processes than those required for the biodegradation of compostable packaging compliant with the standard EN 13432. Harmonization of the performances of industrial composting plants in the EU would help meeting the targets for bio-waste collection and the quality of resulting compost.

Proposals should:

• analyse the technical performances of industrial composting plants, with a special focus on the treatment of compostable packaging, at EU and at global scale. Compostable packaging in the EU is compliant with the standard EN 13432. The analysis should address the environmental impacts of composting plants, including emissions of pollutants to air/water/soil, emissions of odours and energy consumption, and the quality and safety of the product (e.g., control of pathogens in compost), also monitoring potential changes in the microbial communities in presence of compostable materials;
• include a task for the project to select ad hoc performance parameters to define the best practices of industrial composting plants, ensuring the full biodegradation of compostable packaging;
• describe how the project will deliver a collection and assessment of the best practices of industrial composting, at EU and global level, ensuring the full biodegradation of compostable packaging, and will individuate promising innovation, e.g., microbial bioaugmentation strategies to improve composting performances in a range of conditions, to generate high quality compost, and/or to biodegrade pollutants commonly present in compost waste (i.e., microplastics);
• include a task for the project to provide recommendations towards the harmonization of EU industrial compositing processes and conditions, ensuring the full biodegradation of compostable packaging sustainably and safely and delivering safe and sustainable compost, as well as recommendations on improving the environmental performances of such plants, in terms of emissions of pollutants to air/water/soil and of odours.

International cooperation and multi-actor approach, including the involvement of waste managers in municipalities, are encouraged.