Independent sampling

Independent sampling was introduced in 2010 as part of the on-going development of REAL's Compost Certification Scheme, for quality assurance purposes. The independent sampling visits scheme was in operation during the years 2010-2015 but is not currently running. You can find below a description of how the scheme was run in the past.

Historical independent sampling visits scheme

In accordance with the Certification Scheme Rules a certain percentage of certified compost producers were annually selected by the Certification Scheme Owner to be subjected to independent sampling visits.

The Scheme owner appointed independent contractors to carry out independent sample taking on behalf of REAL. Two organisations provided independent sampling services on REAL's behalf.

REAL selected up to 15% of the certified composters on the Scheme, 10% were selected randomly and 5% were targeted (based on previous non-compliance issues). The number of sites that were visited between June 2013 and June 2014 are as follows:

total: 27, random: 20, targeted: 7

The producers operating selected processes were contacted by the independent contractor. For further information please refer to the page which explains how the IS works.

According to the Scheme Rules, ‘Composters selected for independent sampling shall allow sampling to take place unimpeded.’