Solutions

Certified

KERBSIDE GREEN WASTECERTIFIED “ORGANIC”

AN AUSTRALIAN FIRST!

SUCCESS“Certified Organic”

In a world under the shadow of bad news stories, wars, epidemics, political struggle and environmental challenges, it is great to break some GOOD HOME-GROWN NEWS!

During 2014 Certified Organic Solutions have been working closely with Lismore City Council on an ‘Australian first’ program to achieve organic certification status for kerbside food and garden waste. In November Lismore City Council succeeded in becoming the first local council waste and recycling centre in Australian to achieve this worthwhile goal.

This is important news for the certified organic food industry and a great step towards achieving a sustainable environment in Australia. It opens up the potential for this success to be emulated by local councils across the country.

Lismore City Council achieved the certification through AQIS registered Australia Certified Organic (ACO) by putting in place an educational program among residents to make them more sensitive to what was placed in green waste, screening processes to remove plastics and oth-er inorganic materials from the kerbside waste, as well as shredding,hot composting, stringent product testing and cleaning/hygiene controls.

The news means certified organic producers from right across the Northern Rivers can purchase certified organic compost from Lismore Recycling & Waste Centre and maintain their own organic certification.

Picured Above: Ben Debs and the Certified Organic Solutions Team with Lismore Mayor Jenny Dowell at the media event celebrating the anouncement of organic certification for Lismore Waste & Recycling..

“The certification from Australia Certified Organic is another feather in Lismore’s cap and something we have wanted to achieve for quite some time,” Waste Operations Coordinator Kevin Trustum said.Now we have a full complement of composting products that are 100% certified organic.”

“That’s excellent news for organic producers and excellent for us in a business sense.”

“We have totally closed the loop on our green waste services and that’s something we can all be proud of. It means local organic producers can buy local, and the money we gener-ate can go into investigating and implementing further sustainability and recycling initiatives.”

“The local community wants Lismore to be a model of sustainability and being named the first council in Australia to gain organic certification for compost made from kerbside food and garden waste shows we’re really serious about achieving that vision.”

“A PIONEERING model that can now

be emulated across Australia...” This very positive and innovative project was a venture into new territory for the Lismore City Council Waste and Recycling Centre, but with ex-pert guidance from experienced staff at Certified Organic Solutions and close liaison with the ACO, all the challenges have now been addressed and the first certified organic compost has become a commercial reality.

The model developed in this success has exciting potential to be ad-opted by other local Councils. It offers them the opportunity of creating a much needed new income stream, bolsters environmental credentials, and is a huge positive for local certified organic growers, who often struggle to find affordable certified farm inputs that are essential for the success of their growing cycle. A win-win outcome all round!

Ben DebsIf you belong to an organisation interested in emulating Lismore

City Council’s success (described in this brochure), and would like to bring your green waste to the

rapidly growing certified organic market as certified organic fertil-izers and mulches, then call Ben

Debs now to get some down-to-earth, experienced advice on how to make this dream a commercial

reality..

Always an innovator who thinks outside the box, and with a drive that frequently finds him attempting the supposedly impossible - CEO Ben Debs is a solutions oriented thinker and can assist you in understanding the complexities of the certification process, plan for your transition and get across the certification paperwork. Realising the challenges facing people new to the certified organic food industry, and having constantly

advised people pro bono, Ben has now created the support service Certified Organic Solutions. Firmly based on the belief that organics is important for our individual health and a sustainable future for the planet, it is a business specifically designed to support people at the transition into organic certification.

Known as ‘Mr. Organics’, Ben has hands on experience in the com-plete gamut of certified organic contexts: with experience in the certification of ‘conventional’ farms, retail shops, value added manufac-turing and in assisting a wide range of individuals and organisations to enter the certified organic food industry. .Ben initiated the first certi-fied organics imports into Australia, and was instrumental in developing

processes to import certified organic food into Tasmania when it was deemed in the industry to be too difficult because of stringent quaran-tine laws. He has also worked on solar and wind energy projects and was a former director of East West Energy during which time he was proactive in grass roots sustainability and environmental projects.

Product TestingTesting of bulk compost involves collecting and analyzing representa-tive samples of compost from production batches for meeting process optimization, safety, certified organic compliance, and current market standards.

An accurate representation of the area/volume being sampled can be obtained if multiple samples (usually at three places in a batch or wind-row) are mixed together, and industry practice suggest it is best to take samples after the compost batch or windrow has been turned.

Typically, samples are labeled and assigned an ID number, with the date, source, etc. and a test sample log book is kept that records ID numbers and the analysis results for verification by the ACO staff during annual auditing. Certified Organic Solutions have developed a template to assist in each stage of verification that certified organic standards are being met.

Stage 1: Educate the public to be selective in their input to green waste collections. Screen collected waste.

Stage 2: Shred & hot compost to re-move pathogens and chemicals and build the organic micro-environment.

Stage 3: Monitor and scientifically test batches for safety and ascertain they reach certificaton standards.

Organic Certification is the consumer’s guarantee

of food purity.About UsWe offer a unique consultancy and support service to help businesses and organizations negotiate the red-tape & planning involved in gaining “Certified Organic” status within the organic food industry.. Our services apply if :

• you wish to gain certificaton for organic farm inputs and green waste products such as mulch and biological fertilizer, or

• you plan to start an organic farm, or

• you’re a conventional farmer wishing to convert to organic farming status, & access the premium prices available to certified organic growers, or

• your plan is to manufacture organic food products.

We offer experienced support in making the transition, understand-ing the principles, and negotiating the red tape. We’ll help you move to full organic certification.

Just a decade ago, most public officials and business owners

thought of kerbside green waste materials such as grass clip-

pings, food scraps, and sludge as a problem they had to dispose of. Now it can be seen as a valuable

resource that builds revenues for local councils, helps expand and sustain the certified organic farming industry and assists in a movement towards a sustainable

environment.

Hot CompostA bulk hot compost batch can reach temperatures of 49-77 degrees Celsius in just a few days, and if done correctly, compost can be pro-duced from organic matter in around 4 weeks. The temperature of the batch must be monitored because remaining at a temperature of 65 degrees Celsius or higher for even just a few hours, will kill beneficial microorganisms that are an essential part of the composting process..

Typical green kerbside waste - fresh grass clippings and dried shred-ded leaves work great because they’re already in small pieces, and the grass clippings are full of moisture. Organic matter is shredded into fine pieces. Adding in previously produced compost or soil, which will be full of micro-organisms jumpstarts the process. As the batch is built, water is added to keep the organic matter moist.

Over the next month the daily temperature of the batch is monitored and recorded Between one and five days, the temperature should rise, to between 49 and 77 degrees Celsius Once the temperature cools to below 43 degrees Celsius which is usually between 4 and 7 days, the organic matter is turned to introduce oxygen. This will then heat the batch back up. The heat kills all pathogens and breaks down chemicals.

Certified Organic Solutionswww.certifiedorganicsolutions.com.au

P.O. Box 8 Bangalow 2479

Phone: 0455 038 551certifiedorganicsolutions@gmail.com

A Division of Australian Organic Network Pty Ltd

www.australianorganicnetwork.com.au