The course will take place at the The Dolphin Hotel, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 5EP 

The course topics will include:

* Overview of the Biogas industry in Europe and UK and its future development
* Substrate-Input, gas yield according to the substrates composition
* Introduction into environmental & engineering parameters
* Start up phase
* Record keeping
* Case studies
* Trouble shooting
* Practical measures for process improvement
* Interactive session - Necessary laboratory tests & practical interpretation of operating modes using examples from practise

For more information and details on how to register please follow the link the the IBBK website here.
 

Sandhill Biogas plant has installed advanced processing equipment including depackaging equipment that allows it to accept packaged food sources. It also has an advanced centrifuge process for separating the digestate into the different fractions. This allows the plant to reduce both storage and transport requirements.

The plant can now dispatch the biofertiliser as a product which will be of benefit to the plant operators and the biofertiliser end users. Biofertiliser is a source of essential nutrients in agriculture and will help to reduce end users dependence on chemical fertilisers.

AfOR Conference - "Game on: winning the organics diversion race"

Register for the Conference

Over recent years the biological waste treatment industry has expanded substantially and the technological process mix has become more diverse. The most recent, 'Market Survey of the Organics Recycling Industry', positions the sector as one engaged in a wide range of processes aimed primarily at recycling organic waste materials, but also in the generation of renewable energy.

The 17th edition of the Association for Organics Recycling Conference and exhibition is particularly focussed on the issues which have the most impact on the sector at a time when budgets continue to be constrained and environmental regulation is being tightened.

The conference will address key issues facing the sector, including:

What effect will EU legislation have on the UK organics sector?
The role of the organics industry in meeting landfill diversion targets
How will localism affect your business?
Is enough being done to reduce feedstock contamination?
End of Waste criteria: implications for the UK organics sector  

Some of the work packages will be complete before others and while there will eventually have a full report, WRAP will make use of individual chunks of data as they become available.

We have been at a series of WRAP workshops in December in Edinburgh, Bristol and London to discuss the implications both of revising the PAS110 and ADQP and of aligning it with the new EU scheme.

We have also produced a Questionnaire with a simplified synopsis of the main document and circulated it to AD operators and other organisations.  The results have bene received and sent to WRAP and Defra to inform their response to the JRC.  We are extremely concerned that unless some key provisionsof the EoW prooosal are changed, that food waste p lants in the UK will be unable to comply ad will therefore not be able to class PAS110 digestate as re-cycling.

A copy of the written responses and the notes from a phone consultation are attached below.

• Edinburgh 12th December
• Bristol 13th December
• London 15th December 

The objective was to get feedback from the industry on all aspects of  PAS110/ADQP and ASRS with a view to a possible review of the Biofertiliser Certifiction Scheme.  There was also briefing and discussion on the forthcoming End of Waste Directive and the prospect of an EU-wide Digestate Standard.

The actions and discussion points arising from the series of workshops on a review of the AD Quality Protocol (ADQP) are attached below together with a presentation by WRAP

Please find all the relevant documents and presentations below

There is flexibility to discuss additional inputs with SEPA (who will consult with other regulatory bodies in Scotland). The list of additional input materials will be kept up to date with changes clearly indicated. This is a much more flexible system than in England, Wales and NI, where the wastes are listed in the ADQP, which is only reviewed every two years or more.

The position document also includes the SEPA position on the use of outputs from plants treating agricultural wastes.

Contact at SEPA:
Fiona Donaldson
National Operations Waste Unit
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Tel: 0131 449 7276

Congradulations to Lower Reule Bioenergy!

The Joint Research Centre's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-ITPS) has produced a huge document called "Technical report for End-of-waste criteria on Biodegradable waste 2nd Working Document dated 11 October 2011"   which you can download and which includes the new proposals.    However we think that the size of this 202 page document and the accompanying requests for feedback will not encourage the responses from members that we need and so we have produced a simplified table, which extracts the main points, which we have circulated to members in word format.  It is also included below in PDF.  

We also need comments on the list of the feedstock inputs which are being proposed. The list is "Positive" which means that anything excluded, will not be an allowable waste for AD. It has been produced by WRAP to show the differences in the proposed EoW and the current PAS110/ADQP/Scottish list. The excel list has been circulated to members.

Your feedback before Xmas will enable the background work to be started by Defra in preparation for a good submission to the JRC who will then forward their proposal to the EU Commission. It will still be possible to lobby for changes in January and possibly later, but the groundwork needs to be done quickly.

If you have not been emailed with the table as yet, please contact me, David Collins, at dcollins@r-e-a.net or ring me on 07973 111 972.

Now that the PAS110 and the ADQP are almost two years old, WRAP and the Environment Agency would like to evaluate the documents to ensure that both digestate producers and users remain confident in their achievability and robustness.

The evaluation will initially take place through a series of workshops, at which existing and emerging evidence on digestate will be discussed. Venues have yet to be confirmed, but the dates for these workshops are:

Monday 12th December: Edinburgh
Tuesday 13th December: Bristol
Thursday 15th December: London

The workshops are intended to provide an open forum for information sharing and discussion. Whilst other topics can be covered, WRAP and the Environment Agency are particularly interested in examining and discussing evidence on the following:

1. The pasteurisation and digestate stability (RBP) requirements within PAS110;
2. The acceptable inputs and nominated markets in the ADQP.

If you have information relevant to these areas (whether it tends to support the current approaches or tends to suggest alternatives), please send it through to David Tompkins of WRAP David.Tompkins@wrap.org.uk by Friday 2nd December so that I can make it available to all attendees. You are welcome to submit this information even if you are unable to attend the workshops in person.

Where appropriate evidence is available, changes to the ADQP and PAS110 could be considered. Any such changes would follow the normal PAS / QP development process.

"We do not intend changing the regulatory position statement at the current time, which means operators relying on the position that expires on 30th September will need the relevant permit and deployments in place if they wish to continue after that date, unless they are fully compliant with the QP"

In England and Wales that means reverting to the permitting regime after 30th September 2011 unless you have passed the PAS110/ADQP.

However, if you feel that you have a case for a further extension of the Statement because of difficulties that have made it impractical to achieve the necessary standard and gain certification (as opposed to being unable to achieve the standard) within the timeframe, please can you urgently notify us with your justification for this. We will then notify the EA, who no doubt will contact you to discuss whether they can extend the position in your particular case. BCS will make every effort to assist plants to gain an extension, which for reasons outside their control, have not been able to pass the standard in time.

Bearing in mind the time it takes to apply for Mobile Spreading permits and deployments we advise that it would also be advisable to prepare in advance in case the EA does not extend the statement for your plant.
 

cburns@biofertiliser.org.uk

0207 981 0853

"Farmers, horticulturalists, market gardeners, foresters and agronomists - find out how quality assured recovered materials can improve your productivity. Hear from the experts and other users, see technical spec and market information. To find out more and register visit Quality Materials Sector Workshops South East "

Downlaod  the pdf document below to see a flyer for the event

EA say that "the proposal is being considered by the Modernising Waste Regulatory Panel and has not been formally accepted as yet. EA will contact BCS once a decision has been made and ready to roll out."

We think that this is a helpful concession by the EA to encourage the take-up of the PAS110 and ADQP. However please note the time limit of 30 September 2011; this means that AD plants which have long retention times and have not already started the PAS10 and ADQP certification process may not make the deadline. Please contact us if you think you are in that situation.