Annual report of the Italian Composting and Biogas Association

Transcription

1 Annual report of the Italian Composting and Biogas Association 2015

2 Annual report of the Italian Composting and Biogas Association (short version) Authors Massimo Centemero, Marco Ricci, Michele Giavini, Dario Dall Anna, Jenny Campagnol, Gianluca Longu Editing of the English version: Marco Ricci Photos: Massimo Centemero, Marco Ricci Milan (Italy), February 2015

3 INDEX KEY NUMBERS... IV WHO WE ARE...5 INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES AND MEMBERSHIPS... 5 ECN - EUROPEAN COMPOST NETWORK... 6 SEPARATE COLLECTION OF BIOWASTE IN ITALY...7 AMOUNT OF SOURCE SEPARATED FOOD WASTE AND GREEN WASTE IN ITALY... 8 MILAN: EUROPE S METROPOLITAN CITY WITH BEST SOURCE SEPARATION OF FOOD WASTE THE QUALITY OF SOURCE SEPARATED FOOD WASTE THE USE OF COMPOSTABLE BAGS FOR SEPARATE COLLECTION OF FOOD WASTE RECYCLING OF BIOWASTE IN ITALY THE TREND OF COMPOSTING AND AD PLANTS COMPOST PRODUCTION CIC S QAS SCHEME FOR COMPOST COMPOSTING PLANTS AND BIOGAS PLANTS COMPOSTING PLANTS IN ITALY ANAEROBIC DIGESTION PLANTS IN ITALY CIC CERTIFICATION FOR COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION NOTE FOR READERS: INTEGERS ARE SEPARATED FROM DECIMALS WITH THE COMMA SYMBOL

4 Key numbers Relevant data for organic waste recycling in Italy updated tonnes 86 kg/inhab./yr 4,8% Non compostables 240 & 43 plants 28% of the existing National Composting capacity Organic waste from separate collection of food and green waste in Italy, year 2013 Organic waste from separate collection of food and green waste in Italy, year 2013 (average value) Average contamination at the gate of food waste due to non compostable materials Number of composting and & AD plants operating in Italy Composting capacity of the plants with CIC s quality assurance label

5 February 2015 page 5 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association Who we are The Italian Composting and Biogas Association (CIC) was founded in Today CIC s members are public and private companies, local authorities and others involved in the production of compost, as well as organizations which do not make compost but have an interest in the composting process like producers of machinery and equipment, producers of fertilizers, research bodies etc. CIC s mission from the beginning is to enhance recycling and prevention of waste, share knowledge and know how between CIC s associates, enhance compost quality and the market, perform technical training for the composting sector, assist government entities in improving biowaste recovery. In 2012 the Italian Composting Association celebrated its 20 th anniversary. International activities and memberships CIC has been a member since the foundation of the European Composting Network (ECN), the leading European membership organization promoting sustainable recycling practices in composting, anaerobic digestion and other biological treatment processes of organic resources. CIC s Technical Director Massimo Centemero has been part of ECN s Board since CIC is actively supporting the activities of ISWA the International Solid Waste Association, a global, independent and non-profit making association, working in the public interest to promote and develop sustainable and Professional waste management worldwide. CIC s senior expert Marco Ricci- Jürgensen is chairing ISWA s working Group on Biological Treatment of Waste (WGBTW), that addresses the biological treatment of the organic fraction of solid waste through aerobic and anaerobic decomposition processes.

6 February 2015 page 6 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association ECN - European Compost Network The European Compost Network (ECN) is a European non-profit membership organisation promoting sustainable recycling practices in composting, anaerobic digestion and other biological treatment processes of organic resources. The Italian Composting and Biogas Association (CIC) is one of the founding members of ECN. Representing Europe s biowaste recycling sector: ECN is a membership organisation with 71 members from 27 European Countries. Members include all European biowaste organisations and their operating plants, research, policy making, consultants and authorities. ECN represents 21 biowaste organisations (compost and digestate quality assurance organisations) from 14 European Countries and two from abroad, 23 companies producing bio-based products (organic fertilisers, soil improvers, growing media and biodegradable plastics), 11 NGO of environmental protection organisations, 11 academic (research) institutes in environmental, agricultural and natural sciences and 3 environmental agencies. Via the member organisations, ECN represents more than 2000 experts and plant operators with more than 25 million tonnes of biological waste treatment capacity. ECN Objectives: ECN supports the policy objectives of the European Union through its activities and with its network of knowledgeable experts. ECN directly assists Member States in developing waste management plans and policies that drive them away from large scale Board Members ECN Board Members Organisation/Company/Institution Country John van Haeff landfilling and into the recycling of Dutch Waste Management Association Netherlands (Chair of ECN) organic resources. ECN also serves as Mait Kriipsalu Estonian University of Life Science Estonia (Vice-Chair of ECN) focal point for developing EU quality Kristel Vandenbroek standards for biowaste treatment and (Treasurer of ECN) VLACO Flemish Compost and Digestate Quality Association Belgium compost production; it is a network Florian Amlinger ARGE Kompost & Biogas Austria Austria Grigor Stoyanov First Zero Waste and Organic Cycle Organization Bulgaria for the organic waste recycling sector Irmgard Leifert RETERRA Service GmbH Germany in Europe, as well as the emerging Percy Foster CRÉ Composting and Biogas Association of Ireland Ireland bio-based economy. Massimo Centemero CIC Consorzio Italiano Compostatori Italy Henrik Lystad Avfall Norge, Waste Management Association of Norway Norway ECN s vision is a Europe in which all organic resources are recycled and recovered in a sustainable way. From this vision, ECN s primary goal is to support the implementation of EU waste policies and thereby contributing to the development of a recycling society, to sustainable agriculture and energy recovery, to improve human health and to create overall added value within the European market. To achieve this, we believe that effective recycling in all Member States should be built on appropriate collection systems for organic waste to promote high quality products derived from biological treatment. Quality Assurance Scheme for Compost and Digestate: ECN published in October 2014 the Quality Manual ECN-QAS, European Quality Assurance Scheme for Compost and Digestate, defining harmonised requirements for national certification bodies and quality criteria for recycled materials from organic resources. The aim is to facilitate the free cross-border movement of composts and digestate made out of recycled biowastes within the EU. The ECN-QAS is registered as Trade Mark ( OHIM 2012/210: TM No ) for certified quality assurance organisations, compost and digestate products.

7 February 2015 page 7 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association Separate collection of biowaste in Italy From the mid-nineties CIC has been involved in developing and enforcing adequate recycling capacities for biowaste following the Italian general Waste Act (Dlgs 22/1997) of 1997, which sharply changed the legal framework and vision for MSW 1 management; separate collection of biowaste became a strategic element to reach the recycling targets set out in the National Law. CIC estimates that in 2015, at least 3,5 million tonnes of food waste will be collected with different collection schemes in Italian municipalities. On the basis of typical collection rates for food waste for the areas of North-, Central- and South-Italy we estimate that a population equivalent to 40 million people is currently participating in source separation. The growth of separate collection of biowaste in Italy at provincial level from (ISPRA s data, data processing made by ARS Ambiente for CIC) 1 MSW Municipal Solid Waste

8 February 2015 page 8 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association Amount of source separated food waste and green waste in Italy Official data for the year 2013 show 5,2 million tons/year of biowaste to be separately collected and recycled in Composting or Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants (see figure 1). Figure 1: Separate collection of MSW in Italy with specific contribution of food waste and green waste year 2013 The international reader should be aware that in Italy biowaste is generally collected by means of two separate collection schemes: a scheme capturing food waste, including both cooked and uncooked food residues and including meat, fish, etc. a scheme intercepting green waste, with lower frequencies than food waste collection and with different collection tools and schemes Hence this report distinguishes data for food and green waste collection, while biowaste will mean the sum of separately collected food and green waste. A non-compacting vehicle with single driver, for the manual collection of food waste in buckets Comparing capture rates of biowaste in Italian regions shows significant differences (see figure 2): in Northern and Central Italy potential capture rates for food waste are in a range of kg/inhab/yr, while in southern Regions potential capture rates rise to kg/inhab/yr and above, due to larger amounts of food waste inside MSW. The amount of green waste tends to decline from northern to southern areas due to climatic conditions and are influenced also by rainfall and summer temperatures.

9 February 2015 page 9 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association Overall, despite the greater potential, southern Regions are still intercepting organic waste for composting at a very low rate. Figure 2: Separate collection of food and green waste in Italian Regions in kg/inhab/yr year 2013 Effective separate collection is pushing food waste to be up to 20-25% of total collected MSW, as shown in figure 3; this reduces significantly the amount of putrescible waste being disposed off and landfilled; in these situation the benefits of food waste collection can be used to revise (i.e. reduce) residual waste collection, integrating both schemes. Figure 3: Quota of food waste collected separately, compared to total MSW production Outlook: the amount collected in 2013 confirms the long term trend of biowaste collection increasing by 5-8% each year, mainly due to the larger number of municipalities adopting separate collection for food and green waste compared to the current amounts - biowaste recycled in Italy will increase approximately by 50% by year 2020, due to the fulfilment of National target for recycling and the extension of source separated schemes for food waste in Southern Regions.

10 February 2015 page 10 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association Milan: Europe s metropolitan city with best source separation of food waste Milan is a densely populated city in Northern Italy. It has inhabitants, with a population density higher than people per square kilometre, and more than 80% of households being part of multi-family buildings. In November 2012 the city of Milan began implementing the collection of residential food waste, which was previously only available to commercial activities, such as restaurants, schools, supermarkets and hotels. By June 2014 food waste collection was extended to 100% of the population (see map on the right). Thus Milan is already the first metropolis in Europe to have extensive source separation of organics. Communication campaigns: Intensive communication activity played a major role in the campaign. First of all, all property managers of multifamily buildings where sensitized, then all citizens received a letter in advance with explanations of the new service. The extensive sensitization was carried out in parallel with the free delivery of calendars, multilingual sensitization leaflets, a free smartphone app, newspaper Radio+TV ads, and a toll free phone number. Collection tools: Households have been given a ventilated kitchen container to be used in the kitchen, along with a roll of certified (according to EN standard) compostable bioplastic bags for the first few weeks. Food waste is collected in those bags, or in compostable shopping bags commonly given to the customers in stores (customers can use them to collect food waste as second life). Both compostable bags are then placed in a kerbside wheelie bin, which is picked up twice per week (Tab. 1). Table 1: Source separation scheme for food waste in Milan Kitchen Bags Collection Collection frequency 10 litres container Compostable according to EN standard Wheelie bins (brown colour) from 120 liters 2 times/week (households) 6 times/week (commercial) The collection and transport services are performed by AMSA (Azienda Milanese Servizi Ambientali, A2A Group) a public company owned by the Municipality of Milan and other municipalities. The food waste is delivered to an anaerobic digestion and composting facility for the production of Biogas and Compost. Figure 4: Pictures of food waste collection in Milan Results: Figure 5 shows the fast growth of collected food waste for each of the three sectors in which separate collection is being operating (since November-2012, June-2013 and Dec-2013 respectively). It

11 % Non compostable materials February 2015 page 11 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association clearly shows that in about 4 to 6 weeks the collection is fully functional being able to collect about 1,7 kg per inhabitant per week with an annual avarage of kg per capita. These amounts include also food waste collected from the commercial sector (Ho.Re.Ca. - hotels, restaurants, catering). At present all the city s residential and commercial food waste is now collected separately, resulting in tonnes of food waste per year being diverted from landfill, saving 8760 tco 2 /year 2. Figure 5: Weekly amounts (in kg) per inhabitant of food waste collected in 3 waste management zones (Primaticcio, Zama, Olgettina) of Milan City; years 2012/2013 data AMSA The most relevant outcome is that the average level of non compostable material, found in the food waste, is stably and constantly under 5% in weight (see Fig. 6). This is a good quality level for a city above inhabitants and allows treatment at Anaerobic Digestion and compost facilities without any critical issues. Apparently contamination is less of a problem in downtown and outer areas once the scheme has settled down, but becomes more of a problem over time in social housing. Social housing are more critical (not only for the quality of organics, but also for dry recyclables) and are nonetheless monitored constantly and given an additional communication. Quality is almost constant in time, due to consistent monitoring and awareness rising activities performed by AMSA. Figure 6: Quality of the food waste collected in Milan (% Non Compostable Materials). Bounds of the vertical bars are the standard deviation from the mean value of the biowaste collected in Milan 8,0% 7,0% 6,0% 5,0% 4,0% 3,0% 2,0% 1,0% 0,0% Non compostable materials - average trend 4,41% 4,59% 4,83% Phase 1 - after 2 months Phase 2 - after 6-8 months 4,41% 4,54% Phase 3 - after Phase 4 - after months months AVERAGE Following detailed MSW composition of residual waste is was possible to estimate the amounts of food waste diverted from residual waste; according to this information about 84% of the total (100%) food waste produced in Milan is collected by separate collection, while about 16% still remains inside residual waste. 2 Calculated by Italian Composting and Biogas Consortium Based on Defra UK calculation tool, 2011

12 February 2015 page 12 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association The quality of source separated food waste Compost quality derives from feedstock composition and purity; hence CIC has been continuously monitoring since 2004 the quality of source separated biowaste and performed about 2500 waste characterization analyses in the years up to In 2013 the average non compostable quota of biowaste delivered to Italian Composting plants was 4,8% in weight, with best practice cases showing less than 2,0% impurities. The non compostable quota (NCQ) consists of different plastic items (i.e. bags, cups, etc) and other non compostable materials (i.e. glass, stones, metals, etc). Figure 7 shows the distribution of NCQs of sorting analyses preformed during 2013: 64% of the analyses show a NCQ below 5%, 28% of the analyses show a NCQ between 5% and 10%, while only 8% of the analyses show NCQ above 10% in weight of the source separated food waste. Figure 7: Non Compostable Quota of food waste (as % on f.m.) resulting from waste composition analyses performed by CIC on samples of food waste year 2013 The use of compostable bags for separate collection of food waste The presence of post-consumer plastics by error or negligence into source separated food waste represents a problem for composting facilities; compostable 3 bags used for separate collection of food waste can strongly improve the quality of organic waste. Since 2011 the demand for bioplastics-bags in Italy increased due to specific regulatory prescriptions. They were issued in order to reduce the environmental burden of plastic packaging and specifically forbid biowaste to be collected in traditional plastic bags. Moreover, According to Italian National Law on waste management (Decree 152/2006) bags and liners for separate collection of biowaste must comply with the EU-standard (received into Italian law as UNI-EN13432:2002) on biodegradable and compostable packaging materials. In 2013 CIC conducted an investigation on types of bags used for source separated biowaste collection. It shows that: - about 50% of bags fulfilled the standard UNI-EN13432 (certified compostable bags); - about 15% of bags are oxo-biodegradable or bags made of others biodegradable additives (non compostable bags); - Unfortunately, about 35% of the bags are traditional plastic bags (non compostable bags). The most recent data (2014 CIC s survey) prove that the percentage of certified compostable bags for organic waste collection is strongly increasing. It is probably correlated with the National Law 116/2014 which since August 2014 has imposed fines for single-use shopping bags selling. 3 Complying with the EU-standard EN13432.

13 February 2015 page 13 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association Moreover, CIC s data (2013) on the quality of source separated food waste demonstrated that if collection at households is carried out with PE-bags, the expected content of non compostable materials (NCM) is about 9%. Meanwhile, if the collection is performed with compostable bags the level of NCM can drop to 1,4%. So the bioplastic sector potentially can enhance the recovery process of biowaste delivered to composting and biogas plants, if bioplastics used for separate collection are compostable. Hence, CIC is strongly working with National and Regional waste management authorities, to assure that compostable and certified bioplastics are used for separate collection of biowaste. Recycling of biowaste in Italy Biowaste from source separation in municipalities (food and green waste) accounts for about 80% of all waste recycled at Italian Composting Plants in In case of AD plants treating waste, biowaste separately collected in municipalities accounts for about 51% of the plant s input feedstocks. The trend of composting and AD plants In 1993 there existed 10 composting plants accepting biowaste but, due to the spread of biowaste collection (above all since 1997), their number grew till 240 operating plants in 2013 (see figure 8) and 150 of them have an annual capacity exceeding tons. Hence the composting sector currently represents 42% of all MSW recycled, thus being Italy s largest recycling industry with an annual estimated turnover 4 of at least 390 million euro. Current surveys performed on incoming organic waste into Italian composting facilities show food waste to represent the largest quota, up to 48%, of input materials, green waste is almost 32%, while sewage sludge accounts for 11%. As a result, source separated biowaste from municipalities accounts for almost 80% of the overall organic waste recycled into Italian Composting Plants. Quality of biowaste (in terms of percentage of compostable material) collected from households, restaurants and canteens, is a key aspect for producing quality compost. In recent years, anaerobic digestion (AD) of biowaste has been steadily increasing (see figure 9). This form of treatment is chosen in almost all new opening composting facilities. In 2013 there were 43 AD plants for biogas production from biowaste for an annual turnover exceeding 1 million tons. The general approach in Italy is to couple AD with composting, and compost obtained from source separated feedstock has the status of EoW, indeed it is a product according to Fertilizer Law. Figure 8: Biowaste treated (in 1000t/yr) and number of Composting Plants operating in Italy year 2013 Figure 9: Biowaste treated (in 1000t/yr) and number of Anaerobic Digestion Plants operating in Italy year Limited to the composting plants

14 February 2015 page 14 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association Compost production Italy has a long story in terms of Compost regulation, and Compost has been included as a fertilizer in the national law since 1998 (Decree ). Today Italian Compost has to comply to a set of parameters stated by Decree 75/2010, in order to be considered a product and not a waste. This Decree is actually the last update of the first Italian law on fertilizers (Law 748), published in In Compost has the status of a product in Italy and the National Law on waste management (Decree 152/2006) considers compost as an End of Waste only if it complies with the Decree 75/2010. In 2013 the composting sector produced over 1,5 million tons of compost starting from separate collected feedstock. The different types of compost are shown in figure 10: Compost from green waste (GVC), Compost from biowaste, including food residues and sludge, other Organic Fertilizers and outputs. From year 2014 the Italian Fertilizer regulation foresees three different compost types in Italy: GWC, Green Waste Compost made from green waste only, BWC, BioWaste Compost made from green and food waste, and SWC, Sludge Waste Compost produced including also sludge as a feedstock. Around 70% of the Compost produced by the Italian composting plants is used in agriculture, while the remaining 30% is sold to make gardening or landscaping products. Thanks to the last update of the Italian law on fertilizers, Compost can be used in other organic fertilizers as basic growing substrate, mixed growing substrate or organic-mineral fertilizers. CIC s QAS scheme for compost High Quality represents an added value for compost and improving quality is a main goal for CIC since it s early years; therefore the Association started in 2003 the Italian assurance scheme for compost quality, so to enhance the quality of compost production and make customers aware about the advantages of compost use. By 2013 CIC s quality assurance scheme involves about 32 plants and about 30% of the compost sold in the Italian market has gained CIC s label for quality compost. Certified plants are licensed to use CIC s quality label (shown in figure 11) on compost-bags, and are inspected regularly for independent sampling of compost. Nowadays CIC has a database exceeding compost 2000 samples. Figure 10: Compost production in Italy year Figure 11: CIC s Quality Compost Label. GVC = Compost produced from green waste only; BWC = compost produced from food and green waste.

15 February 2015 page 15 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association The CIC Quality label currently calls for continuous analytical control of the Compost, that must comply with the limits established by the Italian fertilizer legislation (Legislative Decree 75/2010 and Ministry of Agriculture Decree of 10/7/2013). In addition to analytical analysis the CQL requires to verify the traceability system for feedstock and for the final destination of the Compost. Table 2 shows the average values for CIC s quality Compost obtained by evaluating about 700 Compostsamples ( ). The data are evaluated for Compost obtained from garden and park waste only (green waste) and Compost produced by adding also food waste (i.e. Compost from biowaste) and limited amounts of sludge. Table 2: Average values for Compost complying with CIC Quality Label PARAMETER COMPOST FROM BIOWASTE COMPOST FROM GREEN WASTE (N = 600) (N = 80) Density (t/m 3 ) 0,45 to 0,6 0,35-0,45 ph 7,7 8,2 Conductivity (ds/m) 3,40 1,29 Humidity (% stq) 30,6 40,2 Ash (% DM) Total Nitrogen (% N ss) 2,2 1,6 Organic Nitrogen (% N tot) Organic Matter (% DM) Phosphorus (P 2 O 5 % DM) 1,4 0,5 Potassium (K 2 O% DM) 1,3 0,4 Organic Carbon (% C DM) 27 23,5 Humic and Fulvic C (% DM) 12 8 Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio 13,1 14,5 Note: DM = Dry Matter A composting plant is granted with CIC s Quality Label after a minimum observation period of 4 to 6 months, if all samples comply to the CQL requirements. For maintaining the quality logo each plant is subject to a number of samples according to the annual treatment capacity of the plant. Figure 12: Examples of compost sampling at plants complying with CIC s QAS for compost.

16 February 2015 page 16 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association Composting plants and Biogas plants Composting plants in Italy In 2013 out of 283 existing composting plants, only 240 plants were fully operating (hence accepting biowaste and producing compost) and these plants represent 93% of the existing treatment capacity for composting (see table 3). About 161 plants have a treatment capacity exceeding t/yr. The overall authorized capacity of plants (nearly 6,5 million tons) far exceeds the amount currently treated, hence assuring that the growth of collection systems will find treatment capacity. The amounts of different types of biowaste treated in composting plants were analysed (see figure 13) by classifying the plants location (distinguishing between North-, Central- and Southern-Italy). The result shows that southern Regions of Italy have to face a lack of green waste, needed as structuring material for managing the composting process. Figure 13: Feedstock accepted as input in composting plants located in different geographical areas of Italy year 2013 The output from the composting sector is analysed in table 4; on average the residues generated by composting plant (the amounts to be disposed as waste) account for about 9% of the input quantities; this number is consistent with the average quality of Non Compostable Material found in the input biowaste. Anaerobic Digestion plants in Italy The number of AD plants has been constantly increasing in the last decade. By AD plants treating biowaste, have been built with a total authorized capacity of 2 million tons (see table 5); most plants integrate AD with (post) composting of the digestate. Apparently official data 5 suggest that AD plants have large untapped treatment capacities compared to the total amount of materials treated (about 1 million t/yr); but in reality the amounts treated are underestimated, since many AD plants have been built in connection with composting plants and the plant inputs are in some cases accounted for the composting step only. According to CIC, AD plants treating biowaste are actually using almost 70% of the authorized capacity. From the existing plants n 8 AD plants have a treatment capacity below 1000 t/yr, while n 29 plants are exceeding t/yr; 3 plants are exceeding t/yr. The average treatment capacity is of t/yr, thus being industrial plants structured to recover both biogas (renewable energy) and digestate and compost (material recovery) from separately collected biowaste. 5 Published by ISPRA, the Italian National Environmental Agency

17 February 2015 page 17 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association CIC estimates that in 2013 the AD sector produced about 150 million Nm 3 of biogas with an average yield of 160 Nm 3 of biogas per ton of input material. Table 3: Composting plants in Italy year 2013 Table 4: Output from Composting plants in Italy (data are rounded up) year 2013 Composting plants Biowaste treated (t/yr) Output - t/yr Amounts of output from compsting plants GVC BWC Others Rejects Total output GVC = Compost produced from green waste only; BWC = compost produced from food, garden waste and other feedstocks; rejects is waste that has to be disposed of. Table 5: Anaerobic Digestion plants in Italy year Italian Regions Authorised Plants (N) Input authorised (t) Input treated (t) Italian Regions Authorised Plants (N) Input authorised (t) Input treated (t) PIEMONTE 4 ABRUZZO 0 VALLE D'AOSTA 0 MOLISE 1 LOMBARDIA 8 CAMPANIA 2 TRENTINO ALTO ADIGE 8 PUGLIA 1 VENETO 9 BASILICATA 0 FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA 1 CALABRIA 0 LIGURIA 0 SICILIA 0 EMILIA ROMAGNA 7 SARDEGNA 1 Total NORTH Totale SUD TOSCANA 0 UMBRIA 1 MARCHE 0 LAZIO 0 Total ITALY Totale CENTER

18 February 2015 page 18 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association CIC certification for compostable materials CIC already started in year 2006 a programme of analyses on biodegradable materials and specifically - on compostable products. The programme ensures the material s ability to turn into compost during the industrial composting process. The programme applies the European regulation EN:13432 on compostable packaging, where applicable. Compostabile CIC is a synergy between CIC and Certiquality a third part certification body and so it is the first trademark on compostable product issued worldwide directly by a National Composting Association. CIC s testing procedure has the unique feature to verify compostability of items directly in industrial, full scale composting plants, hence applying real operating conditions to the materials tested. In addition, the required tests are performed on material sampled by Certiquality during the audit in production plant. As a result, about 50 products were granted with Certiquality s certification and more than 30 companies have been licensed to use the trademark logo compostabile CIC to label the items. More info are available at Table 6: List of EU companies with product certified according to compostabile CIC year 2014 Company Country Product or Item certified BASF SE Germany Vegetable Granules Bioplast Srl Italy Coils and Bags BIOTEC BIOLOGISCHE NATURVERPACKUNGEN GmbH & CO. KG Germany Thermoplastic materials free of plasticizers Mosaico Srl Italy Bio Coated Kraft (90 g/sqm) - coil of paper machine glazed Cartiera Galliera srl Italy Paper Cartiere Saci SpA Italy brown paper Cartonspecialist Srl Italy Pans for oven CoopBox Group SpA Italy Containers for food packaging Flexopack Srl Italy Coils and Bags; shopping bags Fonti di Vinadio SpA Italy Bottles ILIP-ILPA Italy Disposable tableware, food containers Lady Plastik Srl Italy Sacks and Shoppers Novamont Spa Italy Vegetable Granules Papier-Mettler Italy Bio-films Plastisud s.r.l. Italy Containers for food packaging Policarta SrL Italy packaging paper Polycart SrL Italy Coils and bags; shoppers Sanicot Srl * Italy Sanitary pads day-night-anatomic Scatolificio del Garda SpA Italy Plates, glasses, cups, containers and cutlery Sumus Italia SrL Italy Bags SUMUS Tecnosac SrL Italy Coils and shoppers Virosac Srl Italy Bags and shoppers

19 February 2015 page 19 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association Further reading and information For additional information about CIC and its members please visit CIC head office in Rome CIC technical office in Milan Information about CIC s programme on biodegradable materials can be found at (in Italian only)

20 February 2015 page 20 CIC-Composting and Biogas Association Issued in February 2015 CIC Italian Composting and Biogas Association Via Cavour 183/A IT Roma phone