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Please find below some information that we thought would be of interest to you.

 

 
In This Issue
 
Landscape and regeneration tender
 
A retail park in Wolverhampton landscaped using Jack Moody Ltd compost

Invitation to tender for projects using quality composts in the landscape and regeneration sectors throughout the UK

Following the success of the 2006 – 2008 Brownfield Trailblazer programme, the Landscape and Regeneration team are looking to help support further projects which explore the potential for using quality compost in a wide range of sectors, including brownfield land. Funding is available in a number of key areas:

 

1. impacts of compost amendment and compost blankets

on soil geotechnical properties (slope stability) and erosion control;

2. using food-derived composts to grow biofuels on previously developed land;

3. using green composts in landscaping solutions which manage water flows in developed environments (such as rain gardens, green roofs, and bioswales); and

4. innovative uses for composts, such as soil manufacture with food-derived composts or use of compost socks to attenuate pollution in surface water flows.

 

We will also consider other innovative ideas for the cost effective use of quality composts in landscape and regeneration.

 

Projects should identify barriers to compost use in these sectors and seek to overcome these by examining the technical, environmental and financial aspects of compost used for these purposes. Further details are available at:

http://www.wrap.org.uk/wrap_corporate/tenders/index.html

 

Deadline: 10 October

Contact: Paul Mathers

Email: paul.mathers@wrap.org.uk

Tel: 01295 817899 

 
 
Product trials
 
Agriculture - Image of crops growing in lines in field.

WRAP has been sponsoring scientific trials to measure the commercial and environmental benefits of using quality compost for a broad range of crops since 2005.  A total of 24 trials have taken place so far using quality compost made from garden waste, such as grass cuttings, prunings and leaves, and produced to the nationally recognised BSI PAS 100 specification.  While some of these trials have measured the benefits of short-term compost use, others have been conducted on land where compost has been applied over a period of up to 10 years. 

This year, WRAP is trialling the use of both green and food included compost products (ie. compost produced from household kitchen waste) on a range of crops, including potatoes, organic field vegetables, soft and top fruit, and energy and arable crops. Among these 13 trials, two will focus on nursery stock and bedding plant production and a very long-term trial is intended to demonstrate the benefits of compost on  soil health and physical properties. Another trial will also assess the benefits of using digestate (a biofertiliser by-product generated via anaerobic digestion) for barley crops in Scotland.

 

This year, the trials will particularly focus on producing crop quality and financial data and practical recommendations for the use of compost in agriculture and field horticulture.

 

Findings from two of WRAP’s product trials for the use of compost on fruit and potato crops can be found at http://www.wrap.org.uk/composting/agriculture

 

For more information, please contact: Solène Le Doze : solene.ledoze@wrap.org.uk

 
 
Environmental Transformation Fund - Anaerobic Digestion
 
Pen and plan

The anaerobic digestion component of the Environmental Transformation Fund (ETF) was announced by Defra on 16th July. It is a demonstration programme for cutting edge anaerobic digestion (AD) on a commercial scale in England and will be administered on behalf of Defra by WRAP with the assistance of The Carbon Trust. The ETF is likely to fund between three and six projects meeting the programme’s criteria which will be developed from five main themes. For more information, please go to http://www.wrap.org.uk/composting/environmental.html

 

Further details on how to apply to the fund will be launched in mid-September.

 
 
Organics Capital Grant Programme VII
 
Shredded food waste

The next round of the organics capital grant programme will also be launched in mid-September. This scheme can provide financial assistance of up to 30% towards the capital costs of plant, equipment and infrastructure for food waste recycling capacity compliant with the Animal By-Products Regulations in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Application documents will be available on the WRAP website from mid-September.

 
 
Two vacancies in the Organics team
 
Newspaper showing job ads

Project Officer – Organics – The project officer will be responsible for co-ordinating and administering a portfolio of projects in order to deliver the Organics Landscape and Regeneration business objectives and the wider objectives of the Organics team.

 

Project Officer – ETF & Markets – The project officer will be responsible for co-ordinating and administering a portfolio of projects in order to deliver Defra’s Environmental Transformation Fund AD Demonstration Programme and the wider objectives of the Organics team. This is a fixed term contract running to April 2011.

 

If you think you know someone who might be interested, please direct them to http://www.wrap.org.uk/wrap_corporate/about_wrap/employment/index.html

 
 
Forthcoming events
 
The campaign calendar on the Recycle Now Partners website now reaches beyond spring, and has all the latest events for your diary until the end of the year.

Conferences:

  • Recycling and Waste Management                              16-18th September, NEC Birmingham
  • Glee                                                                                          21-23rd September, NEC Birmingham
  • Food Waste Collection and Processing                          16th October 2008, CBI conference centre