Guiding the mainstreaming of best biowaste recycling practices in Europe

ended

The EU obligation for separate collection of bio-waste will enter into force by the end of 2023, increasing bio-waste availability for composting and anaerobic digestion. To ensure the return of nutrients’ embedded in bio-waste to the soil, while minimizing soil contamination, an exhaustive analysis of bio-waste management schemes is required given that large disparities exist for its collection and treatment practices in the EU. Considering the existing knowledge on bio-waste management, LIFE BIOBEST will make the most of its network and their access to a large number of datasets to identify and validate current Best Practices (BPs) along the bio-waste management chain (from generation to treatment) that promote quality compost and digestate production and Key Performing Indicators (KPIs). An exhaustive analysis of datasets will provide a set of BPs and through a set of interconnected co-creation meetings with relevant stakeholders, this project will reveal the technical, regulatory, economic, and environmental barriers to widely adopt the proposed BPs. An EU comprehensive guidance will be prepared together with two guidance in the form of a decision support tree for local and regional authorities to tailor their bio-waste management system to their specific context, offering feasible BPs to promote the recycling of bio-waste into high-quality compost. With an analysis of the production of high-quality compost and digestate, a proposal for premium EU standards for bio-waste entering composting and anaerobic digestion will be developed to promote certification of these materials and ensure optimal bio-waste processes and safe return to soil. With the outcomes of LIFE BIOBEST, we estimate a significant enhancement of purity of the input material going into compost and digestate, reducing sorting losses from 15% to 10%, promoting conversion of bio-waste into high-quality compost and digestate.