2. 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.
3. 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!
4. Ben Debs
If 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
5. 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 Testing
Testing 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.
6. 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.
OrganicCertificationisthe
consumer’s guarantee
of food purity.About Us
We 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.
7. 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.
