Overview

The REAL Compost and Biofertiliser Certification Schemes’ Research Hub (“The Hub”) is a tool to source funding from the compost and anaerobic digestion industries in order to develop the technical and regulatory aspects of certified compost and digestate production, testing and usage.

The primary benefit of the Research Hub is the increased amount of evidence available for the industry to develop and ensure long-term competitiveness and growth. 

The Hub is funded by CCS/BCS participants through the collection of annual Research Fees. The Research Fees are calculated relative to feedstock input tonnage. The Hub is managed by REAL and its operation is overseen by a Research Panel. The Panel are responsible for determining the process for appointing organisations to deliver the objectives of projects funded by The Hub. The Panel also decide which projects are funded, determine the ways in which the results will be used, and help to disseminate the project outcomes.

You can find the Research Hub “How It Works” paper, which details the operation of the Hub and its objectives, here. This paper was last updated on the 21 October 2020.

The Research Hub website

The Research Hub website is now live! The website was launched in August 2020 and can be accessed using: https://www.realresearchhub.org.uk/.

The website provides information about the establishment of the Hub, its governance, ongoing research projects and explains how to get involved among other information. The Research Hub website is considered the central platform for the latest Research Hub information and developments.

Should you have any queries related to the Research Hub, please contact Olivia Furssedonn, Research Hub Manager, using olivia@realschemes.org.uk. Olivia is happy to address any questions you may have.