A new national Compost Quality Assurance Scheme (CQAS 441) will be unveiled at Resource Ireland 2012, in the RDS Dublin on October 17 and 18, 2012. The CQAS 441 scheme has been developed by Certification Europe on behalf of rx3 as a compost quality management system, comprising of practices, processes and standards .The assurance scheme can certify that the facility being assessed is compliant with the Irish Standard I.S. 441 National Compost Quality specifications for the production of compost.
Andrew Cartwright, CQAS Project Manager at Certification Europe will be explaining how the CQAS assurance scheme was developed and its benefit to companies and the general public during his presentation at the conferences ‘Stop Food Waste’ seminars at 3 pm on October 18, 2012. The newly certified compost will also be on display at the event on stand B45 in the Simmonscourt Exhibition Hall.
“The need for a quality assurance scheme has become paramount within the composting industry over the past years due to the growth in the number of similar regulations which have been established throughout Europe. The establishment of this assurance scheme provides verification and confidence in the quality of the compost being produced within Ireland,” said Andrew Cartwright.
“This compost quality assurance scheme offers numerous benefits to the sector. The most important one is the third party independent assessment which gives confidence and credibility to the assured facilities and to their products,” commented Andrew Cartwright.
The national Compost Quality Assurance scheme has been granted the support of the Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government, giving certification to the CQAS scheme credibility and sustainability. Additionally a Compost Quality Assurance Mark has been developed, which is awarded to production sites and products certified to CQAS 441. The recognisable mark will generate consumer awareness and confidence that your compost is produced and verified by a national third party certification body, namely Certification Europe.
Certification Europe was awarded the contract in Feb 2011 to develop the nation Quality Assurance Scheme. The projected consisted of the phases, Phase 1- scheme documentation, Phase 2- trailing and Phase 3- the pilot stage.
CQAS 441 is now in phase three and Certification Europe is currently certifying compositing facilities to the Compost Assurance Scheme. The positive outcomes of the assurance scheme will now become increasingly apparent as the certified quality marked compost becomes available in the marketplace.
To find out more on CQAS Certification Services please contact Andrew Cartwright, CQAS Certification Services Manager, Certification Europe Ltd., Block 20a Beckett Way, Park West Business Park, Dublin 12 or visit www.certificationeurope.com