FOOD WASTE


Village makes a point about food waste


Food waste regulations have come into force in Ireland. Elaine Neary looks at how one major commercial development, Point Village, has embraced the changes


he recycling rate in the Republic of Ireland for food waste generated in the commercial sector is less than 10%. However, food waste can be recycled with relative ease. The Waste Management (Food Waste) Regulations recently came into effect in the Republic aiming to promote the segregation and recovery of food waste arising in the commercial sector in Ireland and, in turn, increase national recycling levels.


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The regulations impose obligations on the major producers of food waste in the commercial sector such as restaurants and cafés, hot food outlets, canteens, hotels and larger guest houses, hospitals, universities, airports and supermarkets and other food retailers. In the Republic, each local authority has advised the commercial sector on the legislation and the nec- essary obligations. Food waste must be segregated at source and subjected to an authorised treatment process that will recover the waste and produce compost, biogas or bio-diesel.


Options for obligation


Each commercial premise is obliged to manage food waste through one of the following options: ● collected by an authorised waste collector and transferred for an authorised treatment process – for example, a compost facility or anaerobic digestion plant ● subjected to an authorised treatment process on the prem- ises where the food waste has been produced – for example, a compost unit on-site ● transferred directly by the producer for the purposes of an authorised treatment process.


The segregated food waste must not be disposed of by the producer, waste collector or any other person, or deposited in the residual bin. A written declaration, stating that the food waste will be source-segregated, must be provided to the authorised waste collector. Waste collectors are also obliged to


VI Local Authority Waste & Recycling October 2010


inform the relevant local authority of persons who are refusing to avail of a source-segregated waste collection service if avail- able.


The regulations came into force in July, however the commercial sector in Ireland is already busy implementing measures to adhere to them. One such example is the Point Village – the new ‘city quarter’ of Dublin. The scheme is designed around a major new public square, Point Village Square, which is bound by the Point Village shopping and leisure complex and the O2 concert venue. The Point Village includes a four star hotel, restaurants, cafés and bars, a multiplex cinema, offices and a shopping cen- tre. The square itself hosts a weekend farmers’ market with more than 100 stalls. When it is fully operational, the devel- opment will generate over 11,000kg of food waste a week.


Designing in segregation AWN Consulting has worked closely with the Point Village to ensure that facilities for source segregation of food waste were incorporated into the design of the development. Each tenant was provided with designat- ed waste storage areas. The optimum location, dimen- sions, surface finishing, util- ity and drainage require- ments for each storage area was determined during the design phase and these are now in use.


At the Point Village, waste is segregated into cardboard, plastic, mixed dry recyclables, glass, non- recyclables, organic waste (such as cooked food, fruit, vegetables, and tea bags) and


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