Posted: 24 November, 2014. Written by Justyna
Thanks to everyone who attended the first meeting of the Producers' Forum. It was very nice to meet you!
REAL has established the Compost Producers’ Forum to ensure that certified compost producers have the opportunity to contribute their views about the running of the CCS. The first meeting of the Producers’ Forum was held on 17th November 2014 in York.
As part of the Scheme update, Virginia Graham explained how the Scheme is run under REAL governance and outlined the recent work we have been undertaking. This includes publication of the dedicated CCS web site, introduction of the Scheme rules review process and developing a framework for monitoring the performances of laboratories appointed to undertake testing under CCS. The operators welcomed the changes and followed up with an informative discussion which provided lots of useful feedback.
The other part of the meeting was shaped by the operators which triggered lots of very interesting & interactive debates. We discussed the on-going contamination issues, relationships with local authorities and market recognition of quality composts.
The meeting was finished by agreeing future plans for the Forum and it was explained that a representative of the Forum can attend the CCS Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting or if it is not possible a paper discussing a specific issue could be submitted to the TAC. The draft Terms of Reference for the Forum can be found HERE and I am happy to receive any further comments by the end of year 2014.
The meeting gave the operators and REAL a great opportunity to exchange opinions and discuss important issues. Thank you to the chair, Jenny Grant, for the excellent leadership and finishing on time!
The next meeting of the Forum will take place in a different part of the country which will be confirmed nearer the time. A suggested date for the next meeting was in the summer of 2015. We would like to encourage all certified producers, whether large, medium or small to consider taking part in the Compost Producers Forum.
NOTES from this meeting are available HERE