1. THE STATE OF COMPOSTING IN ITALY
20th Annual National Composting Conference
September 22-24, 2010
Ottawa, Ontario
Christian Garaffa – Novamont S.p.A.
2. 2
Presentation Outline
• General figures about composting and residential food
waste collections in Italy
• How it works (bins, vehicles, frequencies…)
• Captures & purity
• Financial aspects
• A few words about Novamont
3. 3
Collecting organic waste in Europe:
main legal drivers
1. The revised WFD1
requires Member States to:
• Take measures to encourage the separate
collection of biowaste for composting and AD.
• Recycle 50% of all waste from households by 2020
1. The Landfill Directive2
requires Member States to:
• Divert from landfill 65% of biowaste by 2016
• Pretreat all waste before landfilling
1
Directive 2008/98/EC
2
Directive 99/31/EC
4. 4
Collecting organic waste in Europe:
main legal drivers
1. The revised WFD1
requires Member States to:
• Take measures to encourage the separate
collection of biowaste for composting and AD.
• Recycle 50% of all waste from households by 2020
1. The Landfill Directive2
requires Member States to:
• Divert from landfill 65% of biowaste by 2016
• Pretreat all waste before landfilling
1. Italian Legislation3
requires to:
source segregate 65% of all MSW by the end of 2012
1
Directive 2008/98/EC
2
Directive 99/31/EC
3
D.Lgs 152/2006
5. 5
Composting in italy
Separate collection: trend 2004 - 2008
Metrictonnes*1,000
Organics Plastics MetalsGlassPaper Wood EEW Bulky waste Textiles Hazardous
h.h. waste
Other
Source: ISPRA – Waste report 2009
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Composting in italy
Source: ISPRA – Waste report 2009
Composting of source separated feedstocks in 2008
Potential Treated (residential) Treated (other)
Tonnes
North Center South Italy
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Type of feedstocks composted or digested in 2008
Other feedstocks
Biosolids
Yard waste
Food Waste
Composting in italy
Source: ISPRA – Waste report 2009
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Type of feedstocks 2003 - 2008
Other feedstocksBiosolidsYard wasteFood Waste
Composting in italy
Source: ISPRA – Waste report 2009
Tonnes
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Source: CIC 2010 (Italian Composting
Council)
Numberofmunicipalities
1994 2001 2005 2006 2007 2008
Evolution of SSO programs
In 2010:
2,000 Municipalities
=
20 Million people
=
35% of total
population
SSO programs in italy
15. 15
SSO programs in Italy
Italy
Canada
Kitchen
bin
Outdoor
bin
How does the collection system work?
16. 16
Kitchen bin Outdoor bins
How does the collection system work?
30 to 40 lt (8 to 10
US gallon) for
single households
120 to 240 lt (30
to 65 US gallon)
for multifamily
buildings
SSO programs in italy
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→High breathability & water dissipation
→Reduced fermentation & generation of
odours
→Clean & hygienic
→Reduced yuck factor, higher participation
SSO programs in italy
Trend towards vented kitchen bins
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Food waste collection frequency: two times a week
Residual waste: collected every two weeks or less
SSO programs in italy
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Smaller bins = quick manual tipping and faster collection
(up to 2.5 times compared to wheeled carts)
SSO programs in italy
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• Small collection vehicles of 4 to 7 m3
(5 to 9 yd³)
• Quick transfers between collection points
• No compaction required for food waste
• Cheaper capital investment & operation cost
• Less consuming & gas powered
SSO programs in italy
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1. Capture & diversion from
residual waste
SSO programs in italy
Key Success Factors:
2. Purity of the collected feedstock
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Captures per inhabitant in 2008
Kg/inhab.*Year
Source: ISPRA – Waste report 2009
SSO programs in italy
Captures and Diversion
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Purity of the collected food waste
SSO programs in italy
Two main factors:
1. Bring systems Vs Fetch systems (curbside)
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Purity of the collected food waste
SSO programs in italy
Two main factors:
2. Type of bags used
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Purity of the collected food waste
SSO programs in italy
< 5% contaminants
between 5% and 10%
between 10% and 15%
1036 analyses in 14 facilities and 42 provinces (december 2008 – july 2010)
Contamination%
Source: CIC, Italian Composting Council
28. 28
Purity of the collected food waste
SSO programs in italy
1036 analyses in 14 facilities and 42 provinces (december 2008 – july 2010)
Source: CIC, Italian Composting Council
Contamination%
Average Contamination % (Provinces with more than 5 analyses performed)
29. 29
PE bags 30%
Plastic
packaging 30%
Other plastics
15% Metals 5%
Other (nappies)
20%
Purity of the collected food waste
SSO programs in italy
1036 analyses in 14 facilities and 42 provinces (december 2008 – july 2010)
Source: CIC, Italian Composting Council
Average composition of non compostable contaminants
35. 35
Purity of the collected food waste
SSO programs in italy
Residuesatfacility%
Source: ARPA Veneto 2007, Environmental Protection Agency Veneto Region
Compostable Compostable / PE PE only
Generation of residues according to the type of bag used
36. 36
• Recent study (March 2010) from the Region of Lombardy
• Total 9.000.000 inhabitants
• 1546 Municipalities including Milan
– About 850 with SSO curbside scheme
– 300 with road containers also for organics
– 250 with road containers without organics
• Web based waste data collection system
• Accurate survey on validated data
from all municipalities
Economics
SSO programs in italy
41. 41
Perspectives
• Growth of AD due to public incentives (5 mln tons
capacity are expected in 2020)
• Increasing plant size for new facilities (50.000+ tons)
• Organics collection expected to double by 2015 (from
3.5 to 7 mln tons)
• Quality issues are increasingly being adressed
• Supermarkets are introducing certified compostable
bags to be re-used in SSO programs
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About Novamont and MaterBi resin
Novara: R&D and Headq.
Terni: Production
Italian company est.1989
European Inventor of the year
2007
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• Systemic vision & approach (compostability as a solution
to specific end of life issues)
• Supporting the development of SSO programs
• Collaborating with
– Local Authorities
– Waste operators
– Waste consultants
– Retailers
• Promoting synergies between private and public sector
(e.g. Municipalities & Retailers)
About Novamont and MaterBi resin
