FAQ: What is EN 13432 ?

EN13432 is a benchmark standard aimed at protecting the environment and the human food chain. Products meeting EN13432 are safe for composting. In order to do this EN 13432 defines the characteristics that a material must have so that it can be called ‘compostable’. In brief, a compostable material would have:

Biodegradability - within six months a minimum of 90% of its compostable material would have been converted to carbon dioxide.
Disintegrability – within three months 90% of the original material mass should pass through a 2mm mesh sieve.
No negative effects on the composting process. This is complex and includes analysis of pH, salinity and volatile solids, N, P, Mg and K to determine a eco-toxicological effect.
A proven chemical analysis meeting strict controls on heavy metals and other contaminants.

Why is Composting important?

Composting maintains the balance of nature. For many years humans have deposited huge quantities of organic matter into landfill sites rather than allowing it to compost naturally and return to nature. This is now having some very serious effects on the environment and creating major problems we cannot ignore. Governments have agreed to stop landfilling any waste in the very near future. The composting and recycling of organic waste has a vital role to play in reducing the amount of waste going to landfill sites. The collecting and temporary storage of organic waste can be a messy business but it has to be done.

What happens to the Garden and Organic Waste that is Collected?

There are several ways of processing garden and organic waste into compost and this will vary to suit the council and contractor but the common aim is to create high quality compost with a saleable value. If the compost produced had no value it would just accumulate into a compost mountain. The sale of compost goes some way to covering the cost of collecting and processing the waste and the market price reflects the quality of the compost. The quality of the compost depends on each of us doing their best to ensure that the waste is not contaminated. It is virtually impossible to separate out contaminants from hundreds of tons of compost after it has been collected. Our bags are approved by ECO Composting at Hurn, one of the main depots in Dorset for the processing and composting of kitchen waste.

About Compost

Compost is an excellent natural fertilizer proven by generations of organic gardeners to restore soil fertility, control weeds, retain ground moisture, and reduce soil erosion.

"Compostable" is a description of solid materials that can be placed into a composition of decaying biodegradable materials, and eventually turn into a nutrient-rich material called humus. Composting is achieved by the action of micro organisms and therefore requires minimal time, effort and labour from humans. A properly managed composting site producing quality saleable compost can be continually reused without ever reaching capacity.

Do you supply Corn Starch Sacks?

We do not believe it is ethical to grow a human food crop and convert it to sacks which end up being thrown away when a huge part of the human population on earth is starving. We could not support such a programme. We are also concerned that the corn starch sacks are causing confusion with users. The corn starch sacks look like plastic carrier sacks and this gives a mixed message which is further confused by some of the larger chain stores who say their carrier sacks are degradable. In our experience everyone is confident that paper is a naturally biodegradable material.

Kitchen Sink Waste Disposal Units

It is tempting to think you could dispose of all your organic kitchen waste down the plug hole by using a Waste Disposal Unit. The various Water Companies are looking into this practice and especially the practice of disposing of old cooking oil and grease down the plug hole. This subject has not really hit the media with any impact as yet but the trend is that this practice must be discouraged because of the risk of blockages within the system. Anyone who has had a drain back up will realise how costly and unpleasant this can be. Our advice is don't put food stuffs down the plug hole.