{"id":21262,"date":"2022-10-18T11:00:07","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T09:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resoilfoundation.org\/articles\/compost-materiali-non-compostabili\/"},"modified":"2022-10-21T11:06:42","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T09:06:42","slug":"compost-non-compostable-materials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/resoilfoundation.org\/en\/circular-bioeconomy\/compost-non-compostable-materials\/","title":{"rendered":"Plastic, glass, metals: the “enemies” that dirty the compost"},"content":{"rendered":"

The alarm emerges from a series of video interviews with managers of composting plants carried out by the italian Biorepack consortium. Too high percentages of “foreign fractions” (up to 12%) make it more difficult and expensive to make compost. On the other hand, compostable, flexible and rigid bioplastics were promoted with flying colors: “very useful for increasing quantity and quality of the final product”<\/h2>\n

by Emanuele Isonio<\/p>\n

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To public opinion, the concept of “extraneous fractions” says little or nothing. For those who work every day in the world of waste, it is an obstacle and by no means secondary. Let’s take the case of organic waste, the most significant component of urban waste (about 40% of the total<\/strong>). Their enhancement is fundamental because they can be transformed into compost<\/a>, a precious natural fertilizer that is twice as valuable: they are a valid substitute for synthetic chemicals and, in addition to increasing agricultural yields, they help to restore organic substance to agricultural land, which is increasingly at risk for desertification<\/a>. To produce compost it is necessary that the starting raw material<\/strong> is as “clean” as possible. That is, it must be composed only of compostable materials. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. the non-compostable extraneous fractions reach up to 12% of the total waste sent to the composting plants.<\/p>\n

The complaint emerges from a series of investigations in which the managers of composting and anaerobic digestion plants are given a voice. To make them, the national consortium for the organic recycling of biodegradable and compostable plastic packaging, Biorepack<\/a>, which then transformed them into a series of video interviews. From North to South a journey through images to inform about the end of life of humid products: from Piedmont<\/strong> to Puglia<\/strong> passing through Veneto<\/strong>, Abruzzo<\/strong> and Sardinia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Traditional plastics, glass and metals<\/h5>\n

The five plants visited by Biorepack are responsible, all together, for the management of over 800 thousand tons of organic fraction<\/strong> every year, both through composting-only plants and with integrated plants, which combine the anaerobic and aerobic digestion phase. It is significant that their analyzes coincide on the different points dealt with in the interviews. Starting, in fact, from the danger caused by extraneous fractions. “Non-compostable materials (NCM<\/strong>) reach percentages between 8 and 12% of organic waste disposed” reveals for example Flaviano Fracaro,<\/strong> responsible for the FORSU Supply Chain of Iren Ambiente, the multi-utility that manages waste collection in the provinces of Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, La Spezia and Turin. \u201cMost of them are made up of traditional plastics, despite the legislation that bans them is now more than 10 years old. But also from glass and metals “.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real challenge is to be able to completely eliminate these impurities that damage the composting process and the quality of the final product\u201d adds Fabrizio Pilo<\/strong>, sole director of Verde Vita, which manages waste in 15 municipalities in the north-west of Sardinia<\/strong>. According to Pilo, the synergy between all the players in the supply chain is essential to achieve the goal. \u201cThey must be put into the system and made responsible to help create a virtuous path. Our experience, for example, has shown that building a rigorous door-to-door collection greatly reduces the rate of non-compostable materials \u201d.<\/p>\n

In fact, the case of the Sardinian plant shows that, by organizing the collection of wet waste in a methodical way, the advantages<\/strong> can really be for everyone: for citizens who see the cost of the waste tariff decrease on average, for Municipalities that have lower management costs and for local farmers. The compost produced by the Verde Vita plant, for example, is entirely distributed on farms within a radius of 40 kilometers.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Soil and compost management can help Europe achieve climate neutrality<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n