ECN Annual Meeting 1st December 2010 in Dublin

This year's Annual Meeting of the European Compost Network ECN will be held the day before the AD Conference in Dublin at the 1st December, 16.00 h to 21.00 h, close to the Conference venue.

Important decisions on future ECN activities have to be made and a new Board will be elected. A large attendance is appreciated.

ECN Country reports updated

 A brief inventory and latest developments on the national situation in the biowaste recycling sector show the Country reports on the ECN website.

The reports of Austria, Belgium/FL, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Mallorca, Sweden, Switzerland and UK were lately updated by the ECN Country representatives.

The rest of the ECN member countries will follow shortly finalised by an updated ECN Survey on the status of Biowaste Management in Europe.
See country flags on the right-side.

European Parliament votes for European legislation on bio-waste

On the 2^nd June the Environment Committee of the European Parliament (EP) voted in favour for specific legislation on bio-waste.

This vote was based on the report on the Commission Green Paper on the management of bio-waste in the European Union (2009/2153(INI)). Meanwhile this clear signal was confirmed by the plenum of the European Parliament.

In contrary to the published "Communication on bio-waste" by the European Commission, the Parliament stated that the rules on the management of bio-waste are fragmented and the current legislative instruments are not sufficient to achieve the stated objectives of the effective management of bio-waste. Consequently the Parliament requires a proposal for a specific legislation on bio-waste by the end of 2010.

Conference Brussels-Belgium 21/22 of September 2010 Don't waste your bio-waste

In the context of the Belgian EU presidency the Belgian Environmental Agency (OVAM) has organised a bio-waste-conference under the title "Don t waste your bio-waste"which will be held in Brussels on 21 September 2010.

Within the EU the management of bio-waste has been subject for discussion for a long time. Bio-waste isn t just a waste, it has a lot of value if managed sustainably. The purpose of the conference is to highlight the positive consequences of a harmonised and integrated approach of this valuable waste. Additionally participants will get the possibility to reflect on the latest communication on bio-waste from the European Commission. In addition a site visit of an anaerobic digestion and composting plant is organised for the 22^nd September 2010.

The conference starts at 9am and will take place at the Committee of the Regions, Jacques Delors building, Rue Belliard 99-101,1040 Brussels-Belgium. Attendance at the conference is free of charge. Registration is possible until 14^th September 2010. Please note the conference will be limited to 180 people.

Details of the conference are available on the website: http://www.ovam.be

Revision of ABPR - Regulation goes into final steps

Draft Regulation for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 on animal by-products (former EC No. 1774/2002).

The European Commission/DG Sanco is now continuing the work on the implementation rules of the revised Animal by-Products Regulation. The main Regulation is in force since October 2009.

ECN Comments on the draft implementation Rules SANCO/7066/2010 //ABPR (EC) No. 1069/2009

ORBIT 2010 successfully held in Greece

The ORBIT Conference  'ORGANIC RESOURCES IN THE CARBON ECONOMY' 29th June to 2nd July 2010 at the Technological Education Institute (TEI) of Crete in Heraklion was very well attended.

For the 7^th time the scientific biowaste community used this platform as a forum for the exchange of information about biowaste organic resources. More than 250 participants from 23 countries participated and could attend the nearly 200 presentations. In addition a parallel practitioner's session was organised for Greece municipalities in order to support them in the need for meeting the diversion targets for biodegradable waste requested by the EU landfill directive

The Conference was jointly organised by the Hellenic Solid Waste Management Association  HSWMA, the ORBIT Association and the European Compost Network, ECN The proceedings of the Conference can be ordered via the Conference website www.orbit2010.gr.

Successful ORBIT2009 Conference in China in November 2009

The ORBIT Special Conference 'Biomass and Organic Waste as Sustainable Resources' in November 2009 in Beijing, China, was very well attended.

370 Participants from 26 countries participated and used this platform for the exchange of information and start up of co-operations. The event was jointly organised by the Chinese Agricultural University CAU and ORBIT/ECN.
Because of the very positive feedback further cooperation is discussed.

Most of the 130 given presentations can be now downloaded from the Conference website

www.orbit-online.net

Results of the 2009 Brussels Conference "Bio-Waste - Need for EU-Legislation?"

Results of the 2009 Brussels Conference "Bio-Waste - Need for EU-Legislation?" are available for download.

All powerpoint and the full text of the oral presentations including the discussions and panel statements of the Biowaste Legislation Conference 9/10th of June 2009 can be now downloaded from the website www.biowaste.eu.

The conference results with 200 participating stakeholders from 23 countries show a very comprehensive set of the pros and cons of any biowaste legislation and give a good food for thoughts and arguments in our day to day policy discussion. [see www.biowaste.eu]

The “BOOK OF RUBBISH”

(main authors Martin Steiner & Ulrich Wiegel)
is a comprehensive handbook on all aspects of waste.
It contains brief information concerning the kinds and
origins of waste, the hazards of inadequate handling, collection systems, treatment options, regulatory and legal frameworks,
and waste management concepts.

It is available in English, Spanish, Turkish, Polish, Italian, Greek, Slovenian, and German.

120 pages, richly illustrated.
The book comes with a CD containing all eight languages.
Special feature of the e-version (CD): A flag bar (see center below) at the end of each chapter which contains internet links to get information about the chapter’s topic in the respective country or in the respective language.

Orders
by indicating the requested language of the paperback to
http://www.sunnyarea.eu 

Price: 24 € (including shipping cost).
Price for joint orders upon request.
Within a fortnight the book(s) will be sent including an invoice.