This document discusses the potential regulatory framework for digestates in the EU. It addresses how digestates can transition from a waste status to fertilizing materials, including meeting end-of-waste criteria, complying with regulations like REACH and animal by-products, and being incorporated into the EU Fertilizers Regulation. The document also examines allowing national measures for products not fully covered by EU rules as long as they follow certain conditions. The goal is an ideal regulatory system that harmonizes rules for acceptable input materials and placing digestate-derived products on the market.

1. A possible EU regulatory framework
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for Digestates:
Fertilisers, EoW criteria, Animal By-products,
REACH,…
Conference of the European Biogas
Association, Egmont aan Zee (NL)
1 October 2014 Eric LIEGEOIS
Team Leader
DG Enterprise and
Industry – Unit F.2

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Which hurdles need to be crossed to put
digestates on the market as fertilising
materials?
From the digestor… To an EC fertiliser

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Leaving the "waste" status….

4. EU End-of-waste criteria for composts
and digestates
• DG JRC report released in February 2014
• DG ENV to approve the EoW criteria??
• DG ENTR to integrate into Fertilisers
Regulation??
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Becoming a product …hence subject
to REACH as chemical….

6. Status of digestates under REACH
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• A material reaching EoW status should be in
principle subject to the REACH Regulation
• Supplier must provide their customers with
information allowing the material to be used safely
• Certain materials could be subject to prior
authorisation or restriction of use
• Recovered materials exempted from REACH
registration if
• the substance(s) have already been registered
("sameness principle") and the operator has access
to existing data, or
• materials are listed in Annex V (e.g. composts)

7. Leaving the "unprocessed animal by-products"
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status….
If manure as feedstock

8. Status of digestates under ABPR
• Animal by-products Regs. provide for processing
conditions for materials to be considered as being
processed (art.32) before placing on the market =
"sanitation" (e.g. "pasteurization" or any equivalent
recognised method).
• Under discussion: to enforce compulsory
measurement of the actual level of pathogens at
the end of the digestion process in order to certify
that a digestate has left "the unprocessed ABP
status" and can be used as fertilising materials.
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From "non-waste", "processed ABP"
status to fertilising materials

10. DG ENTR approach to help digestates
reaching the market as fertilisers
3 main reasons: (1) P= critical, (2) N-fertilisers = societal
challenges, (3) create business:
• Create dynamic market place for all fertilising materials
• Meet reasonable user expectations for fertilising materials deriving
from waste:
• Including legal requirements to allow use of waste materials for
fertilising materials production
• Requiring third party examination and frequent controls of the
compliance of the products to the provisions of the Fertilisers
Regulation
• Technologically neutral
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11. Scope of the future revised Fertilisers Regulation

12. DG ENTR approach to help digestates
reaching the market as EC fertilisers
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Working document - does not
represent consolidated views of
the Commission !!!!!

13. Marketing EU fertilisers deriving
from waste: 2 steps
• Compliance to legal requirements allowing
use of processed waste materials as input
materials for manufacturing fertilising
materials (e.g. compost, digestate) set out in
the Annexes of the Fertilisers Regulation
• Compliance of the final fertilising material to
the essential safety, quality and labelling
requirements specific to its relevant category
• Compost and digestate recognised as organic fertiliser or
soil improver
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14. Marketing EU fertilisers deriving
from waste (2)
• STEP 1: Legal requirements for the waste
material to be considered as acceptable input
materials in the FR :
• Make use of JRC conclusions for composts and digestates
• List of input materials
• General requirements on treatment processes and techniques
• Specific list of contaminants (medicinal products,…) not
covered by the essential safety criteria for products
• Exclude wastes complying with these "legal requirements"
from the scope of the WFD (="non-waste status")
• Specify the certification procedure for waste deriving products
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15. Marketing EU fertilisers deriving
from waste (3)
STEP 1 :
• We have the knowledge (through JRC report) for
composts and digestates, so we can propose it
• For the "others"waste-derived products: to be
developped by JRC :
• P recovery as a mineral form (struvite,
ammonium sulfate from digestion process, …)
• Biochar
• Concentration of P from biomass and direct use
in agriculture and P recovery after incineration
(ashes)
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16. Marketing EU fertilisers deriving
from waste (3)
STEP 2
• Verification of the compliance of the end
products to the essential safety, quality and
labelling criteria by the producer
• Third party verification of the compliance of the
products
• Conformity assessment procedure defined in
Decision (CE) N° 768/2008
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17. Some exceptions to the full market
harmonisation goal :
National measures
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18. National measures on products:
scenario 1
• Products not covered by the EU Regulation could
remain on the national market as non-waste (e.g.
struvite) until legal requirements are developed for
such products provided that:
• "National EoW" or any equivalent measure (also a national
fertiliser Regulation) shall be notified to the COM, or
• Existing National EoW procedure applies, and
• The marketing of such products is limited to the national
territory, and to other MS if accepted through Mutual
Recognition
• Otherwise, it remains a waste and the waste
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19. National measures on products:
scenario 2
• When a waste is not mentioned in the EU positive
list of acceptable input material for the production
of a defined product, it could still be used as input
material for the production of that product
provided that:
• Legal requirements pointing to National product standards apply
• The marketing of such products is limited to the national
territory and to other MS if accepted through Mutual Recognition
Examples: digested and composted sewage sludge
• Otherwise, it remains a waste and the waste
legislation applies
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20. Conclusions
An ideal regulatory framework (under preparation) shall aim
at the following combination of regulations at EC level:
• Fertilisers Regulation will outline rules to determine which input
materials can be considered as acceptable when deriving from
waste streams such as composted and digested wastes: the
Regulation will be providing legal requirements and procedures
• Fertilisers Regulation will harmonise as much as possible
conditions for placing fertilising materials on the market
when they derive from these acceptable input materials
• Animal by-products Regulation should be amended to determine
conditions and procedures to leave the "unprocessed ABP status"
• REACH registration exemption shall be extended to digestates
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21. Cutting some red tape to help digestates
to be marketed as safe and reliable
fertilising materials !
From the digestor… To an EC fertiliser
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22. Thank you for
your attention !
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European Commission
DG Entreprise and Industry
Unit F2 - Chemicals Industry
Unit F.2
eric.liegeois@ec.europa.eu