Compost Testing to PAS 100
There has been significant growth in recycling materials for compost as part of increased environmental concerns and the costs of disposal. This resulted in ‘shred and spread’, the poorly managed application of green waste materials onto agricultural land.
What is PAS 100? 
PAS 100 (Publicly Available Specification 100) Specification for Composted Materials has been introduced as a minimum requirement for the process of composting to ensure reliable, safe and consistent product. Composters are currently required to meet the requirements of PAS 100 in order to market their product as a composted material.
The requirements for the quality of composted materials specify upper limits for human pathogen indicator species, potentially toxic elements, physical contaminants and weed propagules. They also specify minimum performance in a plant germination and growth tests.
PAS 100 is sponsored by the Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) and monitored by the Association for organics Recycling (AfOR).
Eurofins has worked closely with AfOR in developing a testing protocol for PAS 100 since its inception and have been involved with the development of the testing protocols and is one of a limited number of labs aproved by AfOR.
Contact our sales team for further information on 0845 604 6740 or email sales@eurofins.co.uk
Testing Requirements
Eurofins in Wolverhampton offers comprehensive and consistent testing, approved by AfOR. We request that the minimum sample size is 15 litres.
The following tests constitute the minimum testing requirements required for a composter to gain PAS 100 approval:
|
PARAMETER |
UNIT |
UPPER LIMIT |
|
Pathogens (Human and animal indicator species) |
||
|
Salmonella |
25g fresh mass |
Absent |
|
Escherichia coli |
CFU g fresh mass |
1000 |
|
Potentially toxic elements |
||
|
Cadmium |
mg/kg dry matter |
1.5 |
|
Chromium |
mg/kg dry matter |
100 |
|
Copper |
mg/kg dry matter |
200 |
|
Lead |
mg/kg dry matter |
200 |
|
Mercury |
mg/kg dry matter |
1.0 |
|
Nickel |
mg/kg dry matter |
30 |
|
Zinc |
mg/kg dry matter |
50 |
|
Stability / maturity |
||
|
Microbial respiration rate |
Mg CO2/g organic matter/day |
16 |
|
Germination and growth test |
||
|
|
Reduction in germination of plants in amended compost as % of germinated plants in peat control |
20 |
|
|
Reduction in plant mass above surface in amended compost as % of plant mass above surface in peat control |
20 |
|
|
Description of any visible abnormalities |
No abnormalities |
|
Weed seeds and propagules |
||
|
Germinating weed seeds or propagules re-growth |
Mean number per litre of compost |
0 |
|
Physical contaminants |
||
|
Total glass, metal, plastic and any “other” non-stone fragments > 2mm |
% mass/mass of “air-dry” sample |
0.5 (of which 0.25 is plastic) |
|
Stones |
||
|
Stones > 4mm in grades other than “mulch” |
% mass/mass of “air-dry” sample |
8 |
|
Stones > 4mm in “mulch” grade |
16 |
|
Additional Parameters
In addition to the above required tests, Eurofins are able to offer a number of additional parameters that relate to the nutritional status of the final product.