Organic waste from the garden

In contrast to food and kitchen waste, there were and are usually no major problems with the recycling of garden and park waste.

In practically all municipalities and syndicates, the separate acceptance and recycling of green and shrub cuttings has been offered since the 1970s. However, at that time there were no composting plants; initially the garden and green waste ended up in special landfills or was incinerated. It was only in the 1990s that composting plants were created, which worked with modern technology and marketed quality-tested compost.

Here, the coarse garden and green waste, such as shrub cuttings, branches are first shredded and then mixed with the finer material, such as leaves, grass, unprocessed vegetable waste, etc., and then placed on so-called windrows. These are, for example, elongated triangular heaps (triangular windrows) that are turned over at regular intervals so that the inner layers are turned to the outside and vice versa. This serves to ensure that as many parts as possible come into contact with oxygen, allowing them to decompose faster and preventing anaerobic rot.

The disadvantage of pure composting, however, is that the heat and energy generated, as well as the gases produced during decomposition, are not used. The Minett Kompost facility in Monnerich therefore relies on a combination of composting and fermentation. In this way, the non-fermentable woody garden and green waste can be recycled together with kitchen waste, and organic waste from the garden and kitchen waste can be collected from the consumer in a green bin.

The recycling of organic waste is very important. It provides resources for the production of energy. It serves climate protection so directly because the gases produced are used. The production and use of compost also contributes to CO₂ reduction.

Under no circumstances should garden and green waste be burnt for disposal purposes. Even dry, clean material causes nuisance to fellow human beings and means senseless energy destruction and greenhouse gas production. Only the processing of woody garden and park waste into woodchips for use in modern heating systems can be environmentally friendly. However, care must be taken here that not too many nutrients are removed from the habitats.

Disorderly dumping in the forest is not allowed, as this not only does not look good but also affects the habitats of animals and plants.

Further questions can be answered by the SDK and, of course, the contact persons of the municipalities and syndicates.

Organic waste from shops and the kitchen

Formerly food rests were hardly noticed. In the countryside people and neighbors had animals, mostly pigs or chicken, to which the bits left over were fed so it was only in the households in the city that food rests ended up in the waste. Waste from markets, shops and restaurants were also mostly used to feed animals in farms.

In the second half of the last century this changed gradually. The increasing surplus generated a decrease in food prices, which led to greater quantities being bought and consumed. As a consequence of higher requirements as to freshness and quality, food products which would be consumed without hesitation in former times are now considered inedible.

Legal provisions regarding health and hygiene were added with for instance the introduction of due dates, leading shops and consumers to through away goods for safety reasons, which in principle are still consumable. Meanwhile the EU and various national governments have acknowledged the issue and tried to implement new legal provisions to stop wasting food.

Only a few years ago, the majority of food waste was not recycled, but ended up in the residual waste. This was primarily due to the fact that hygiene regulations had become so strict that untreated food could not be used as animal feed without further ado. Only fruit and vegetables that were no longer suitable for sale or unsold bakery products from the trade could still be used in this way without further ado, but fewer and fewer farmers accepted these goods because the feed composition is also determined from the outset in animal breeding.

The situation regarding the use of food waste only changed recently. Since 1990 biogas plants were built which in a first time only processed waste from agricultural origin (manure, mist etc.) and then specially grown energy plants as corn. They could only accept food rests after the legal provisions were amended accordingly (EU directive regarding animal by-products of 2002 and 2009). Food rests have to be heated at least for one hour at 70° C. 22 of the 26 biogas plants in Luxemburg are authorized for the fermentation of waste. Most of them use the so generated biogas to produce heating power and electricity in a block heat and power plant. Only a few of them as for instance Naturgas Kielen process biogas to produce natural gas, which is then introduced in the “normal” natural gas network.

The installation of Minett Kompost in Monnerich has a special status. This communal plant does not accept waste from agricultural origin but processes the full range of organic waste, including garden waste. Hygiene treatment occurs during the heating phase of compost production and in addition to biogas the plant also produces compost.

In the meantime, many municipalities or syndicates have introduced a green bin (most of them for green waste and kitchen waste / food rests). The number of authorized waste processors, which can also accept waste from restaurants and canteens, is quite important with a decreasing effect on the disposal as household waste.