Eric Liégeois, DG GROW - Latest development of EU Fertilizers legislation
1. Circular Economy Action Plan
Revision of Fertilisers
Regulation
DG GROW
Recycle Nutrients for Clear Waters
Forum for Action, Helsinki,
20 April 2016
2. From a Linear Economy…
DISPOSEMAKETAKENATURAL
RESOURCES
WASTE
WASTE
WASTE
2
4. 4
The Fertilisers Regulation in the context of
Circular Economy Action plan
The objectives
• Making Fertilisers more sustainable
• Promote recycling of nutrients and boost the market
for secondary raw materials
5. The Potential of domestic bio-waste for
market of fertilising products
• Substitution of mined or synthetic fertilisers by
biomass or bio-wastes based fertilisers:
• Nitrogen: +3% market share by 2025
• Phosphorus: +14%
• Potash: +22%
88%
12%
P2O5 in 2015
Inorganic
nutrients
Organic
nutrients
6. 6
Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen,
responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and
Competitiveness (17 March 2016): "Very few of the
abundant bio-waste resources are transformed into
valuable fertilising products. Our farmers are using
fertilisers manufactured from imported resources or
from energy-intensive processes although our industry
could valorise these bio-wastes in recycled nutrients.
This Regulation will help us turn problems into
opportunities for farmers and businesses."
7. 7
The Fertilisers Regulation creates a level playing
field for all fertilising products
• CE-marked fertilising products will be subject to similar
rules under the new legislative framework
• Quality, Safety and Labelling requirements
• Conformity assessment procedures
8. Component Material
Categories
Product Function
Categories
CMC 1: Non-polymer
virgin materials
CMC 2: Simple
plant parts or extracts
CMC 3:
Compost
CMC 4:
Energy crop digestate
CMC 5:
Other digestate
CMC 6: Food
industry by-products
CMC 7:
Micro-organisms
CMC 8:
Agronomic additives
CMC 9:
Nutrient polymers
PFC1 - Fertiliser
(A) Organic
(I) Solid
(II) Liquid
(B) Organo-
mineral
(C) Inorganic
PFC2 – Liming material
PFC3 – Soil Improver (A) Organic
(B) Inorganic
PFC4 – Growing medium
PFC5 – Agronomic additive
(A) Inhibitor
(B) Chelating agent
PFC6 – Plant Biostimulant (A) Microbial
(B) Non-Microbial
PFC7 – Fertilising product blend
A CE marked fertiliser is composed of…. A CE marked fertilising product belongs to….
8
CMC 10:
Other polymers
CMC 11:
Animal By-products
(I) Solid
(II) Liquid
(I) Macronutrient
(II) Micronutrient
(C) Complexing agent
9. 9
Issues related to recycled nutrients
• Technological aspect:
• Available technologies from lab to industrial scale.
• Varying quality and not acceptable input materials
(okay for composts, digestates, processed manure,
other animal by-products)
• Safety aspect: "End-of-waste criteria" providing rules for
leaving waste status (now composts, digestates; later,
ashes, struvite, biochar)
• Acceptability for all national legislators (if CE-marked)
11. 11
Optional harmonisation
• Member States may allow other fertilisers on their markets
without the CE marking
• Political choice of new COM driven by subsidiarity principle
• We reserve harmonise rules for products :
• where scientific consensus exists,
• where need to freely circulate exists
• Less market disruptive: CE-products compete with
national ones
• Leave room for innovation for recycling nutrients: first,
test your business case at national level, then, work on EU
harmonisation if opportunity exists.
12. 12
Thank you for
your attention !
European Commission
DG Growth
Unit D2 - Chemicals Industry
Unit F.2
eric.liegeois@ec.europa.eu