PAS 110 awarded to Amur

Amur has been awarded the PAS110 standard for digestate at its Yorkshire AD facility. Achieving PAS110 brings external recognition for the company’s consistency and robust procedures and, most importantly, means that the digestate produced is now classed as a quality product rather than a waste.

Amur’s Operations Manager, Charlie Thompson, said: “Meeting the requirements of the standard demonstrates that we are committed to following best practice procedures and producing quality outputs. As well as opening up new markets for our digestate, it also guarantees that our specially-blended food waste soup is a suitable feedstock for other PAS110-accredited plants.”

PAS110 is a precise quality framework, administered by the Biofertiliser Association and accredited by the British Standards Institute. It restricts plants from taking in certain types of waste and requires operators to test outputs at regular intervals. Auditors expect plant operators to test feedstocks, monitor areas such as retention time and the health of the digester, and to take samples of digestate. Amur started proceedings in January 2018.

Thompson said: “We were already working to many of the PAS110 standards, such as monitoring digestate and taking monthly samples. Once we started the process, we ensured that all staff and contractors were trained and understood the importance of adhering to PAS 110 procedures.”

He added: “Committing to a quality standard such as PAS110 is a perfect fit for a business like Amur. Digestate is not given the credit it deserves. The negative carbon impact of chemical fertiliser is well documented and digestate offers a sustainable alternative that comes with added cost benefits. Taking food waste and processing it to generate a quality product – that is not classed as a waste – meets our objectives as a circular business, but it also shows the other AD operators that we support that our systems and processes are
robust and well-managed.”

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