Australian Organics Recycling Association has joined an international alliance to maximise the recycling of organic wastes. Peter Olah, AORA National Executive Officer, explains.
In the December 2021 edition of Waste Management Review, I outlined plans for an international collaboration which will plug AORA members into a global network of industry knowledge-sharing and resources such as the industry has never seen.
That collaboration is now real. Welcome to the International Compost Alliance (ICA).
On World Soil Day, 5 December, compost associations from around the world launched the ICA, a voluntary partnership to advance awareness and understanding of the benefits and use of compost on a global scale.
The Alliance will offer positive solutions for climate change mitigation, soil health and food security, building on years of working collaboration between organics recycling organisations. By pooling expertise and knowledge, the Alliance seeks to maximise the recycling of organic wastes and advance the manufacturing of certified, high-quality compost.Despite organics recycling being an affordable and proven solution to the climate mitigation and methane emission reduction goals, it remains an underutilised and undervalued technology globally.
The Alliance will showcase the importance of compost and its multiple benefits.
These include enhancing soil health, improving crop productivity and nutritional value, improving water quality, and supporting biodiversity protection and natural resources preservation. There will also be a focus on collaboration and joint initiatives with the potential for international research.
The founding members of ICA include the Australian Organics Recycling Association (AORA); Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REACT); Compost Council of Canada (CCC); European Compost Network (ECN); International Solid Waste Association (ISWA); CRÉ – Composting and Anaerobic Digestion Association of Ireland; WasteMINZ (Waste Management Institute of New Zealand); and United States Composting Council (USCC).
Membership is open to any membership-based organisation that aligns with the Alliance’s mission of advancing organics recycling and producing high-quality compost and digestate products. A number of other national composting associations will join ICA in 2022.
In a joint statement, the ICA says the collaboration will greatly benefit the waste industry:
“Compost is a win-win solution to climate change – not only does recycling organic wastes reduce emissions, compost also brings many benefits when used on soils too.
This is why we have joined forces to work together to maximise the recycling of organic wastes and advance the manufacturing of certified, high-quality composts to benefit the environment, society and our members.
We hope the International Compost Alliance helps usher in a new era of global collaboration on this issue, to ensure that compost, and its role in soil health and food security, is central to the efforts in tackling climate change.”
In addition to the capacity to influence the global debate and policy making in each of these areas, ICA will also directly benefit AORA members including event access. All ICA members will provide access to their events at shared member rates among their collective memberships.
ICA members will also share new reports, ground-breaking research and news that, in turn, we will share with our members. Additionally, ICA will work towards establishing a global knowledge management and sharing platform for businesses and professionals in the industry. AORA will discuss these benefits, with AORA members early in 2022.
For more information visit: www.aora.org.au