Thornton ESPP slides RAMIRAN September 2023 11_9_23

RAMIRAN, Clare College, Cambridge, September 2023 – n° 1
Chris Thornton
info@phosphorusplatform.eu
www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Changing regulatory context for organics recycling in Europe
September 2023

European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform (ESPP)

Legal entity,
 transparency
 clear decision making
 representation
- established 2014
- not-for-profit association
- statutes are public
- EU Transparency Register no. 260483415852-40
100% membership funded
 credibility, independence
50+ paying members :
industries, SMEs, R&D institutes & projects,
national platforms, cities & regions
 balance between interests and industries

• Decision by consensus
• Mediation rather than advocacy
- enable dialogue between stakeholders
- develop shared policy proposals
- communicate with regulators
• Communication tools:
- web site www.phosphorusplatform.eu
- LinkedIn Twitter
- eNews, Scope Newsletter,
100 000 + emailing list
(15 – 30 % identified opening rate)
ESPP in action

EU regulatory and policy dossiers
- Green Deal
- Sewage Sludge Directive
- * Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive ‘Recast’
- Fertiliser supply and food security
- Green Finance ‘Taxonomy’
- * Critical Raw Materials Act
- EU Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR)
- * Soil Health Act
- CAP (Common Agricultural Policy)
- BAT (Industrial Emissions Directive)
- R&D: Horizon Europe, LIFE, Interreg, Bioeconomy Strategy …
- Recycled nutrients in certified Organic Farming
- Animal Feed Regulation
- Integrated Nutrient Management Action Plan
National policies
- Austria proposed sewage P-recovery obligation
- Baltic Nutrient Recycling Strategy (HELCOM)
ESPP in action
Struvite & phosphate salts from sewage
authorised Jan. 2023
Revision ongoing
Proposed new Directive 26/10/22
Includes P and N recovery
Delegated act 13/06/2023
Includes: P- recovery from sewage
Expected … …
* = currently with European Parliament and Council
Consultation to 23/10/23
Includes: proposed minimum soil Olsen P levels
OJ: 8/8/2023:
Manure in compost, digestate, ashes now included (conditions)
‘Processed Manure’, other Cat2-3 ABPs: still pending

Nutrient recovery technology catalogue
http://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/techcatalogue

Nutrient platforms - partners of ESPP
• Netherlands 2010 http://www.nutrientplatform.org/
• Germany 2015 www.deutsche-phosphor-plattform.de
• Ireland 2018 https://nutrientsustainability.ie
• Italy 2019 https://www.piattaformaitalianafosforo.it
• North America 2017
(Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance, launched as NAPPS in 2015) https://phosphorusalliance.org/
• Japan PIDO 2011
(Phosphorus Industry Development Organization of Japan) www.pido.or.jp
• Global Partnership for Nutrient Management (UNEP)
http://www.unep.org/gpa/what-we-do/global-partnership-nutrient-management

Developments in nutrient policies in Europe

Context: European Green Deal 2019 (1)
Farm-to-Fork Strategy 2
and
Biodiversity Strategy 3
both fix target for 2030 to:
- reduce nutrient losses by at least -50%
while ensuring no deterioration on soil fertility
resulting in a
- reduction in fertiliser use
by at least -20%
1 = COM(2019)640 https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/communication-european-green-
deal_en
2 = COM(2020)381, 20th May 2020 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?qid=1590404602495&uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0381
3 = COM(2020) 380 final, 20th May 2020
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/strategy/index_en.htm

Context: European Green Deal
possible “legal requirements
to boost the market for secondary raw materials,
with mandatory recycled content”
2015: EU Circular Economy Package
2020: EU Circular Economy Action Plan(1)
Integrated Nutrient Management Action Plan …
“stimulating the markets for recovered nutrients”
1 = COM/2020/98 https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/circular-economy-action-plan_en
No progress to date …
ESPP will organise debate, make proposals

European States with P-recycling obligations
Switzerland
• 2016 VVEA (waste act), Art 15, makes
phosphorus recycling becomes obligatory by 2026
from sewage sludge incineration ash* and meat and bone meal ash
* Switzerland banned land use of sewage biosolids in 2006
Germany
• AbfKlärV 2017 (sewage sludge regulation):
phosphorus recycling from sewage becomes obligatory
- by 2029 / 2032 years for all WWTPs > 100 000 P.E. / 50 000 P.E.
if sewage sludge P > 2% of dry matter
Austria (draft notified)
• 2022 AVV Abfallverbrennungsverordnung 2022
phosphorus recycling becomes obligatory by 2030
for WWTP >20 000 P.E.
from sewage sludge (>60% recovery) or sludge ash (>80% recovery)
Under discussion
• Denmark, Sweden, Baltic …

EU Water Policy updates

EU Water Policy
Water Framework Directive:
2019 «Fitness Check » (REFIT)
fit for purpose with room for improvement on
investments, implementation, integrating water into
other policies, chemical pollution, administrative
simplification and digitalisation. (ESPP eNews 39)
But only half of EU waters have achieved Good
Ecological Status and several JRC publications
suggest current actions insufficient
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102281
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133888

Sewage Sludge Directive 1986/278
Revision underway
Preparatory study published 2022
(ESPP eNews n°39)
Evaluation published May 2023
- remains relevant
- update listed contaminants:
organic compounds,
pathogens,
pharmaceuticals
microplastics
EU Water Policy

EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive Recast
Also: proposed modifications to Environmental Quality Standards,
Groundwater and Water Framework Directives to address “emerging
contaminants of concern” including PFAS, microplastics and
pharmaceuticals.
European Commission proposed new UWWT Directive, 26 October 2022:
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-revised-urban-wastewater-treatment-directive_en
Other Directive modifications:
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-amending-water-directives_en
Access to Parliament proposed amendments and procedure documents:
https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?reference=2022/0345(COD)&l=en
EU Water Policy

• Tighter P, N discharge constraints
- 0.5 mgPtotal/l or 90% P removal (was 1-2 mgl/ or 80%)
- 6 mgN/l or 85%N removal (was 10-15 mg/l or 70-80%)
- for all wwtps > 100 000 p.e. even if NOT in Sensitive Area
• wwtps to be “energy neutral” by 2040
• “quaternary treatment” for all wwtps > 100 000 p.e., or > 10 000 p.e. if identified risk
• “Extended Producer Responsibility”
- for pharmaceuticals & cosmetics only (initially)
• Measurement methods for microplastics in ww and in sludge
• Promote water reuse
• “integrated urban wastewater management plans”
• Definitions of “sludge”, “micro-pollutant”, “antimicrobial resistance”
• Phosphorus and nitrogen reuse and recycling targets (art. 20)

Phosphorus and nitrogen reuse and recycling targets (art. 20)
“Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that sludge management routes are
conform to the waste hierarchy provided for in Article 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC. Such routes shall
maximize prevention, re-use and recycling of resources and minimize the adverse effects on the
environment.
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts … setting out the minimum reuse and
recycling rates for phosphorus and nitrogen from sludge, in order to take into account
available technologies for phosphorus and nitrogen recovery in sludge”
• Discussion underway in Parliament & Council
• ESPP proposed amendment: widen to recovery anywhere in the treatment plant
Council draft position proposes to delete
nitrogen recycling

European Parliament proposed amendments
Delete N and P recovery (212, 1093, 1094)
Widen recovery to ww not only from sludge (ESPP proposal) (193, 196, 216, 1095, 1096)
Fix specified P and N recovery rates
- 50% recovery of both N and P (1102)
- 80% for P (1097)
Framework or market measures for uptake of recovered nutrient products
(194, 196, 1095, 1102, 1103, 1104)
Include N2O in climate emission monitoring
(150, 197, 198, 199, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 833, 834, 837, 840, 917, 1151)

EU water policy in the UK
“Nutrient Neutrality” questioned
DEFRA TIN186 : building of new houses
in catchments of protected natural areas
must be “Nutrient Neutral”.
UK draft Environment Act target:
- reduce P, N and sediment losses
by 40% by 2038
See ESPP eNews n°59 - n°59 and n°35.

EU Taxonomy

EU "Taxonomy"
Includes P recovery from municipal wastewater
- Wording widened (“from on site” deleted)
- Not P-recovery from other steams
such as manure, food waste, industry …
- Not N-recovery
… ESPP contacts ongoing for future updates
https://finance.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-06/taxonomy-regulation-
delegated-act-2022-environmental-annex-1_en.pdf

EU Fertilising Products Regulation (2019/1009) = “FPR”
and recycled nutrients in certified Organic Farming

EU Fertilising Products Regulation 2019/1009
Already a significant number of amendments adopted: refer to consolidated version
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02019R1009-20220716
Opens European market for recycled fertilisers
… and for recycling technologies
Precedent: first EU Product Legislation to confer EU “ End-of-Waste” status
Covers:
- fertilisers: mineral, organic …
- soil improvers, liming materials
- growing media
- composts, digestates, biochars …
- …

“Optional harmonisation”
You can place on the market
 as CE-mark fertilising products
(EU Fertilising Products Regulation criteria – and Conformity Assessment)
 transport to and sell in any EU country
 as “national” fertiliser
 cannot be transported to another EU country
(unless “mutual recognition”)
 or both
 or spread under national “waste” legislation or similar
(traceability, producer responsibility, …)

How it works …
A CE-mark product must respect
all four of:
 Annex I PFCs
= Product Function Categories
 Annex II CMCs
= Component Material Categories
 Annex III = Labelling
 Annex IV
= Conformity Assessment
If you think ‘CMC’s
are input materials …
and ‘PFC’s
are finished products …
then you’ve
maybe got it partly right …
possibly …
but it’s not that simple.

EU Fertilising Products
Regulation
PFCs (Product Function Category)
1. Fertiliser: Organic, Organo-mineral,
Inorganic
2. Liming material
3. Soil improvers: Organic, Inorganic
4. Growing medium
5. Inhibitor
6. Plant biostimulant
7. Blend
CMCs (Component Material Category)
1. Virgin materials
2. Mechanically processed plants
3. Compost
4-5. Digestates
6. (certain) Food industry by-products
7. (biostimulant) Micro-organisms
8-9. Nutrient & other polymers
[10. Animal by-products] - to date: empty box
11. (certain, industrial) By-Products
12. Recovered phosphate salts & derivates
13. Ashes & derivates
14. Pyrolysis & gasification materials
15. (certain) Recovered Minerals
(inc. N-salts from off-gases)

EU FPR:
in? or out?
Sewage
Manure
+ Cat 2
& 3 ABPs
Cat1
ABPs
Plant
materials
Food waste /
biowaste
Food
industry
CMC2: plant materials ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗
CMC3: compost ✗ ✓* ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗
CMC4: “energy crop” digestate ✗ ✗ ✗ Some ✗ ✗
CMC5: other digestate ✗ ✓* ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗
CMC6: food-industry by-products ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗
Certain
materials
CMC10: animal by-products
* FPR CMC10 = currently empty box.
ABP Regs fertiliser “End Points” published OJ: 8/8/2023
CMC11: by-products Only certain minerals from processes not taking wastes as inputs
CMC12: phosphate salts & derivates ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓
CMC13: ashes & derivates ✓ ✓* ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓
CMC14: pyrolysis & gasification ✗ ✗* ✗ ✓ ✓ Plant only
CMC15: recovered minerals Only certain minerals from processes not taking wastes as inputs
CMC15: gas-stripping N salts ✓ Manure ✗ ✓ ✓ Some
Table prepared by ESPP « to the best of our understanding » only

EU Fertilising Products Regulation 2019/1009 (FPR)
STRUBIAS adopted and published
 FPR entered into application summer 2022
 “STRUBIAS” (Struvite, Biochars, Ashes) criteria
published end 2021

Animal By-Products in the FPR
DG SANTE amendment to Animal By-Products Regulations (ABP)
Published 8th August 2023
 establishes ‘End Points’ under ABP Regulations for certain ABP materials
- for use in fertilising products
- without traceability - FPR provides CE-Mark fertilisers with ‘End-of-Waste’ and product status.
At present these materials can be authorised under national fertilisers regulations but only subject to traceability.
 Covers
- Cat2 and Cat3 ABP ashes
- Composts
- Digestates
- “Processed” manure and insect frass (“Processed” as defined in ABP Regulations)

Animal By-Products in the FPR
8th August amendment
It is ESPP’s understanding that:
 inclusion into the FPR CMC10 requires also modification of the FPR
 this is delayed because environmental safety assessments are legally required
++ end 2023 for “Processed Manure” (JRC assessment underway)
++ end 2024 for other ABPs (tender below)
 EU tender - submission deadline 18th September 2023
“Technical study to include new materials in CMC 10 to the Fertilising Products Regulation”,
GROW/2023/OP/0027 HERE.

Animal By-Products in the FPR - 8th August amendment
Nonetheless … manure (and specified Cat. 2 and 3 ABPs)
are (probably, under conditions …) already today authorised in:
• composts CMC3
• digestates CMC5
• precipitated phosphates CMC12
• ash-based materials CMC13
• pyrolysis materials CMC 14
subject to achieving both:
 processing criteria of ABP Regulation
 and FPR CMC criteria
ESPP has asked that this be clarified in the EU Commission’s FPR Frequently Asked Questions document.

CMC15: “Recovered high quality
materials”
Recycled nitrogen or sulphur products
from sewage/sludge offgas
 Sludge digestate ammonia stripping
 In-wwtp N or S gas mitigation
 Recovered product must be
a (specified) mineral salt
EU Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR)

European Commission study pending
 New candidate input materials for EU fertilising products (CMCs)
 New treatment methods for CMCs
 Additional biostimulant micro-organisms (CMC7)
 Is expected to assess sewage sludge biochar
(temperature, time, contaminant requirements …)
DG GROW tender TED) GROW/2022/OP/0046 closed 17th July 2023
https://etendering.ted.europa.eu/cft/cft-display.html?cftId=13126
EU Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR)

Recycled fertilisers in Certified Organic Farming

Recycled nutrients in EU “Organic Farming”
EU Implementing Regulation on Organic Farming 2021/1165 Annex II
In some cases with use specification, contaminant limitations or specified “sustainable origin”
 Materials from plants or algae “only for Organic” or sustainably collected
 Manure inc. dried, composted, digestate “Factory farming origin forbidden”
 Compost or digestate of separately collected biowaste, of vegetable materials
 Certain animal-by-products: fish meal, meat & bone meal, hydrolysed proteins, dairy, wool, feathers, …
 Wood by-products and ashes
 Shellfish wastes
 Egg shells “Factory farming origin forbidden”
 Biochar from plant materials
 Struvite and precipitated phosphate salts (EU FPR CMC12 definition)
 Negative EGTOP Opinions : Animal Bone Char June 2022 here, (certain) ammonia stripping N-salts
See also : ESPP proposals here - FIBL paper here
Published 17/1/2023
Precedent for nutrients
recovered from sewage

EU Implementing Regulation on Organic Farming 2021/1165 Annex II
Struvite and precipitated phosphate salts
 Must meet Fertilising Products Regulations criteria
- includes from sewage / sludge
- does this mean FPR “Conformity Assessment” ?
 Manure effectively excluded (no ABP End Point -> excluded from FPR)

ESPP – IFOAM webinar
Monday 18th September 2023, 14h – 17h, online
Which recycled nutrients
for Organic Farming ?
and why ?
www.phosphorusplatform.eu/Events
.

EU Soil Health Directive proposal

EU Soil Health Directive proposal
Public consultation open to 24th October 2023
and currently in EU Parliament and Council
 Subsidiarity to Member States (MS)
 Definition of “Soil Districts”
 Annexes I - Soil Descriptors for Healthy Soil Condition …
- EU wide / or MS-defined
- includes:
- Max. soil POlsen : must be set by MS between 30 and 50 mg/kg
- Max. soil NKjeldahl : may be set by MS if causes “critical loss of ecosystem services
- “loss” of Soil Organic Carbon (but defined by level of SOC)
- not included in proposal: Minimum P or N
 (Unlike Water Framework Directive) - no legal obligations of status objectives by specified dates

Chris Thornton
info@phosphorusplatform.eu
www.phosphorusplatform.eu

Thornton ESPP slides RAMIRAN September 2023 11_9_23

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