About the Book
This report contains an assessment and evaluation of outlets of compost produced from municipal waste. 1 Introduction Composting is one way of meeting targets for reducing the biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) fraction of waste going to landfill. This waste fraction must be reduced by 65 percent, as set out in European Community (EC) Council Directive (1999/31/EC) (EC, 1999) and "Changing Our Ways" (DELG, 1998). Composting technologies will make up part of the infrastructure for biologically treating up to a target of 300,000 t of biodegradable waste annually. In the National Waste Database (EPA, 1998), approximately 33 percent of household and 15 percent of commercial waste were estimated to be organic. Essentially this represents the putrescible fraction of biodegradable waste (PBMW), which is a subset of BMW. PBMW includes food scraps and green wastes. These wastes have often been called the organic fraction of municipal, household or commercial waste, or the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW).
As part of this document, a National Strategy to develop market (for profit) and non-market (not-for-profit) outlets was devised by reviewing and synthesising existing successful models of compost distribution, and developing and synthesising relevant baseline Irish information. Most simply, an outlet is a venue in which compost can be used for the benefit of soil and plants. An outlet can be as simple as using compost from a home composter (non-market outlet), or as sophisticated as selling a blended (with other constituents) bagged product (market outlet). It is recognised that compost produced from PBMW will have to compete with existing organic amendments (e.g. peat, manure, etc.), and/or new market or non-market outlets will have to be developed. In addition, compost will have to meet legal standards (e.g. re inorganic contaminants such as metals) and market-driven standards (e.g. particle size, nutrients, salinity, etc.) in order to secure markets. 1.1 Goal and Objectives The key goal of this document was to formulate a National strategy to develop adequate, stable and reliable PBMW-compost market and non-market outlets.
The objectives pursued in achieving the above goal included: - reviewing existing information regarding PBMW compost use; - reviewing the status and future status of PBMW composting in Ireland; - ascertaining existing outlets for organic amendments in Ireland; - identifying potential new outlets for distributing PBMW compost. 1.2 Tasks The main tasks undertaken included: - a literature review; - surveys of local authorities, private hauliers, producers of organic amendments and sectoral organisations; - development and application of a marketing model for PBMW compost; - development of Strategy to Develop Adequate Reliable and Stable Outlets for PBMW Compost. 2 Literature review An estimate of PBMW requiring diversion was made and is presented in Table 1. From this, an estimate of the potential maximum amount of annual PBMW compost production was made. It is unlikely that all PBMW requiring diversion will be composted, so these estimates could be considered as maxima. Compost has many advantageous attributes. These include soil conditioning qualities such as: - water-holding capacity Table 1.
Estimated PBMW requiring diversion and estimate of resultant compost if all PBMW requiring diversion was composted. Year PBMW waste landfilled PBMW to be diverted from landfill (t) Compost produced from PBMW (t) PBMW to be diverted from landfill (t) Compost produced from PBMW (t) Zero growth* Zero growth** 3 percent annual growth 3 percent annual growth* 1995 100 percent 0 0 0 0 2006 75 percent 111,000 55,500 281,000 140,500 2009 50 percent 221,000 110,500 448,000 224,000 2016 35 percent 287,500 143,750 668,000 334,000 *442,301 tonnes is used as the baseline tonnage for PBMW produced in 1995. **Estimated 50 percent reduction in weight between PBMW and final compost. - soil aeration - organic matter - soil stability and aggregation - soil bulk density - erosion prevention - soil pH - cation exchange capacity Additional significant attributes include providing a source of plant nutrients and contributing to disease suppression. Due to these attributes, compost has been successfully utilised as a growing medium or soil conditioner, in the horticulture, agriculture, land remediation, forestry, and other sectors. There are a number of general barriers to utilising PBMW compost.
They include the fact that it is a new product in Ireland, the abundance of other soil amendments, and PBMW compost being a waste-derived product. The development and application of a marketing model can help surmount general barriers to utilising PBMW compost. The main product-related barriers to PBMW compost use include the presence of heavy metals, pathogens (plant or animal) and phytotoxicity (salts, organic acids, pesticide contamination). Compost standards in the form of legal standards (e.g. heavy metals, pathogens, etc.) and market-driven standards or specifications can help overcome product-related barriers to PBMW compost use. 3. Surveys Surveys of a number of stakeholders were carried out. The aim was to generate baseline data with regard to existing composting infrastructure, compost production and compost utilisation. Information was also sought in order to determine the development of future composting infrastructure, compost production and compost utilisation. 3.1 Survey of Local Authorities Table 2 contains the PBMW composting infrastructure data obtained from the local authorities that responded (95 percent) to the survey.
In 2001, there were approximately 25,000 home composters, and 5700 households receiving separate PBMW collection. By late 2001, there were 22,100 households with separate PBMW compost collection. Table 2. Summary of composting infrastructure (n = 36). Composting Infrastructure Number Home Composting Programme 30 Centralised Facility 4 Community Composting Facility 0 Vermi-composting Programme 4 Seasonal Drop-off Facility 1 Year-Round Drop-off Facility 3 Sewage Sludge Composting Facility 1 Other 0 None of the above 6
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements...ii Disclaimer...ii Details of Project Partners...iii Executive Summary...ix 1 Introduction...ix 1.1 Goal and Objectives...ix 1.2 Tasks...ix 2 Literature review...ix 3 Surveys...x 3.1 Survey of Local Authorities...x 3.2 Survey of Private Hauliers...xi 3.3 Survey of Retailers of Organic Amendments...xi 3.4 Survey of Sectoral Organisations...xi 4 Applying a Marketing Model to the Marketing of PBMW Compost...xii 5 Strategy for Developing Stable, Adequate and Reliable Outlets for PBMW Compost...xiii 5.1 Introduction...xiii 5.2 Strategy...xiii 1 Introduction...1 1.1 Goal and Objectives...1 1.2 Tasks...1 1.2.1 Baseline Information Gathering...1 1.2.2 Strategy to Develop Adequate Reliable and Stable Outlets for PBMW Compost...2 2 Literature Review...3 2.1 Introduction...3 2.2 Current Waste-Management Policy...3 2.2.1 Potential Quantities of PBMW Compost...4 2.3 Attributes of PBMW Compost...5 2.4 Uses of PBMW Compost...5 2.4.1 Horticulture...5 2.4.2 Agriculture...6 2.4.3 Land Remediation...6 2.4.4 Forestry...6 2.4.5 Other Uses...7 2.5 Barriers to Using PBMW Compost...7 2.6 Compost Standards...8 2.6.1 Legal Standards...8 2.6.2 Market Standards...9 3 Surveys...10 3.1 Local Authority Survey...10 3.1.1 Introduction...10 3.1.2 Method...10 3.1.3 Results...10 3.2 Private Hauliers Survey...14 3.2.1 Introduction...14 3.2.2 Method...14 3.2.3 Results...14 3.2.4 Assessment...15 3.3 Survey of Retailers of Organic Amendments...15 3.3.1 Introduction...15 3.3.2 Method...15 3.3.3 Results...15 3.3.4 Assessment...16 3.4 Survey of Sectoral Organisations...16 3.4.1 Introduction...16 3.4.2 Method...16 3.4.3 Results - Production of Organic Amendments...17 3.4.4 Results - Utilisation of Organic Amendments...19 4 Applying a Marketing Model to the Marketing of PBMW Compost...25 4.1 Introduction...25 4.2 Applying the Marketing Model...25 4.2.1 The Marketing Information System...25 4.2.2 Internal and External Analysis...26 4.2.3 Market Segmentation and Targeting...27 4.2.4 Market Cycle...31 4.2.5 Determining the Marketing Mix...32 5 Strategy for Developing Stable, Adequate and Reliable Outlets for PBMW Compost...34 5.1 Introduction...34 5.2 Strategy...34 5.2.1 Hierarchy of PBMW Compost Usage...34 5.2.2 Order of PBMW Composting Infrastructure Development...35 5.2.3 Economic Value of PBMW Compost...36 5.2.4 Quality...37 5.2.5 Facilitating Outlet Development...37 5.2.6 Marketing Strategies...38 5.2.7 Conclusions...40 6 References...41 Appendix 1: Tables...46 Appendix 2: Development of a Marketing Model for PBMW Compost...62 A2.1 Introduction...62 A2.2 Marketing Defined...62 A2.3 Market Strategy Development...62 A2.3.1 Introduction...62 A2.3.2 Steps to Develop a Marketing Model...62
