Presenter: Chris Thornton European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform (ESPP) www.phosphorusplatform.eu Sustainable management of nutrients is crucial for agriculture, food, industry, water and the environment. ESPP brings together companies and stakeholders to address the Phosphorus Challenge and its opportunities for the circular economy. Countries: Austria AT Belgium BE Bulgaria BG Cyprus CY Czech Republic CZ Germany DE Denmark DK Estonia EE Spain ES Finland FI France FR Greece EL Hungary HU Ireland IE Italy IT Lithuania LT Luxembourg LU Latvia LV Malta MT Netherlands NL Poland PL Portugal PT Romania RO Sweden SE Slovenia SI Slovakia SK United Kingdom UK Switzerland CH Phosphorus: Fosfor Fosfor Fòsfòr Фосфор Fosfor Фосфор Fosfor Fosfor Фосфор Фосфор Fosforas Fosfors Fuosfuors Fosfor Ffуsfforws Fosfar Fosfaras Fosfaar Fosforus Φωσφορος Ֆոսֆոր Fosfor Fosfor Фосфор Фосфор ফসফরাস فسفر ફૉસ્ફરસનો फास्फोरस Fosfor Fosfori Foszfor Фосфор Фосфор Паликандур Fosfor Fosfor Фосфор Фосфор Фосфор Фосфор Fosfor فوسفور Fosfor Fosforoa ფოსფორი [fūsfūr] זרחן Fosfru Lìn リン 인 ฟอสฟอรัส Photpho 磷 Posporo Fosfor Pūtūtae-whetū Fosforus ഫോസ്ഫറസ് பொஸ்பரசு Fosofo Fosforase Posfori Fósforo Phusphuru Fosforimi Fosforo Fosforon Pesticium

1. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°1
info@phosphorusplatform.eu www.phosphorusplatform.eu @phosphorusfacts
What to do with the phosphorus - a European perspective
Chris Thornton - European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform

2. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°2
Pressure to remove phosphorus
• Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive
1991/271
• Nitrates Directive 1991/676
• Water Framework Directive 2000/2000
- quality objectives 2015 / 2021 / 2027
• Groundwater Directive 2006/118
- phosphorus on monitoring list (2014)
Phosphorus is first cause of EU Water Framework Directive quality status failure
(other than morphology)
55% of UK rivers and 74% of lakes exceed P level for good ecological status

3. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°3
3 July 2018
Pressure to remove phosphorus
EU Water Framework Directive:
• Under review
• public consultation
announced for Autumn 2018
EEA report July 2018:
• only 40% of EU surface waters achieve
good or high quality status
• little improvement since 2012

4. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°4
Pressure to recycle phosphorus
Phosphate is on the
EU Critical Raw Materials List since 2014
and White Phosphorus since 2017
 Non substitutable
 Non renewable
 Geopolitical resource concentration
 EU 90% dependent
on imports
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-interest/critical_en
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-599_en.htm

5. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°5
Pressure to recycle phosphorus
EU Circular Economy Package 2015
In responses to public consultation:
 30% of respondents identified bio-
nutrients as “materials the EU
should target first” (Q5, Q3)
 Overall, 54% cited bio-nutrients or
phosphorus (all questions)
Scope Newsletter n°118
http://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/images/scope/ScopeNewsletter%20118.pdf

6. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°6
Pressure to recycle phosphorus
Switzerland
• 2016 Decree makes phosphorus recovery
obligatory by 2026
from sewage sludge incineration ash* and
meat and bone meal ash
* Switzerland banned land use
of sewage biosolids in 2006
• Still under discussion:
- %P recovery to be required
- recycled fertiliser criteria
Scope Newsletter n°118 http://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/scope118
Scope Newsletter n°121 http://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/scope121

7. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°7
Pressure to recycle phosphorus
Germany
• Legislation May 2017
makes phosphorus recovery obligatory
- within 12/15 years
- for all wwtp > 50 000 p.e.
- if sewage sludge P > 2% of dry matter
• Interpretation under discussion:
%P depends on organics: change with hydrolysis, digestion  will favour mono-incineration
• Requires to either recover >50% of P or to reduce sludge P to <2%
• Land sewage biosolids use banned for larger sewage works,
and lower contaminant limits will reduce spreading for smaller works

8. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°8
Pressure to recycle phosphorus
Baltic
• HELCOM:
8 EU Member States, plus Russia and the EU
• “Recommendation” March 2017 = obligation
- maximise phosphorus and other useful substance recycling
- regular State reporting on measures taken to implement this
• Ministerial Declaration March 2018:
- define Nutrient Recycling Strategy by 2020

9. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°9
Phosphorus
recycling
– a long history Bison bones recycled to fertiliser, Canada, 1870
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/bison-skulls-pile-
used-fertilizer-1870/

10. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°10
Agricultural use of sewage biosolids
• >50% of EU sewage sludge is used in agriculture, green areas or landscaping
Eureau – in ESPP eNews n°8 www.phosphorusplatform.eu/eNews8
• Data not clear: definition of « landscaping » ?
• Is the phosphorus recycled (used according to crop needs) ?
- or is it applied up to spreading limits ?
• Challenges:
- pharmaceuticals *
EU “Pharmaceuticals Strategy”
…. still pending
- micro-plastics
- food sector purchasing criteria
* see https://phosphorusplatform.eu/images/download/ESPP-submission-EU-consultation-pharmaceuticals-18-2-18.pdf
21/1/2018

11. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°11
Agricultural use of sewage biosolids
• Food industry and crop company purchasing or sustainability criteria
• Other examples ?
• Concerted EU or global dialogue with food industry,
supermarkets, certification organisations ?
• Develop positive sustainability arguments:
- recycling nutrients and organic carbon
• Need for R&D, scientific data & risk assessments
see joint position: www.phosphorusplatform.eu/organic-contaminants

12. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°12
What to do with the phosphorus ?
EU Fertilisers Regulation proposal
• Will fix EU criteria (EU label) for all fertilisers & soil amendments
- mineral & organic fertilisers, composts, digestates,
food industry by-products, liming materials, soil improvers …
• Currently in trilogue (Council / Parliament / Commission)
• Open EU market for recycled nutrient products
and also for nutrient recycling technologies
• But sewage biosolids currently excluded
- from composts, digestates, etc
Detailed documents at www.phosphorusplatform.eu/regulatory
http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/15949

13. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°13
EU Fertilisers Regulation  STRUBIAS
• Proposed EU criteria for
- struvite and phosphate salts
 including from sewage
- biochars and pyrolysis products
 sewage excluded
- products derived from ashes
 including from sewage
• First draft proposals at: www.phosphorusplatform.eu/regulatory
• Final draft criteria expected summer 2018
• ESPP and DPP (German Phosphorus Platform)
are members of STRUBIAS expert working group
 send us comments and input

14. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°14
EU Fertilisers Regulation
• Possible future:
food companies & supermarkets
may specify use only of EU-label
fertilisers and soil amendments
in crop purchasing or sustainability criteria ?
• ESPP stakeholders meeting on EU Fertilisers Regulation and STRUBIAS:
Wed. 5th September 2018 Brussels 9h-17h15
(or webinar 14h-15h30)
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/eu-fertilisers-regulation-and-strubias-tickets-47156434164

15. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°15
Other current EU dossiers and actions
• Proposed new CAP (Common Agricultural Policy)
and Rural Development Funding
https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/future-cap_en
• Proposed R&D funding programme 2021-2028 (FP9 = Horizon Europe)
- budget around 100 billion €
- include: Nutrients? Pharmaceuticals? Food and diet?
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-4041_en.htm
• Food policy … reducing sewage P at source
• EU Pharmaceuticals strategy
• EU water policy REFIT review
• Draft EU Water Reuse Regulation http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-3929_en.htm

16. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°16
Other current EU dossiers and actions
• EU R&D projects on water treatment, nutrients, recycling
started in 2017, 2018
(Horizon2020, InterReg, LIFE)
SMART-Plant, Incover, Decisive, Systemic, Run4Life, Water2Return, SABANA,
Cinderalla, Houseful, Hydrousa, NextGen ProjectO, Phos4You …
and future Calls to come
• Exchange with European water companies and R&D centres
on technologies for P-removal to low discharge consents
• Sweden proposal to ban agricultural use
of sewage biosolids : decision 13/7/18 ? https://t.co/At9ceRU9dR

17. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°17
Some opportunities
• Dialogue on flexible consenting,
transferable nutrient discharge rights
• Combining low discharge P-removal with P-recycling
• Transfer of sewage P removal technology to
ecological restoration (removal/recovery of P from low
concentrations in rivers, drainage ditches – removal from
sediments)
• Transfer of sewage nutrient removal and recovery
know-how to manure treatment
Newtrient
manure processing technology catalogue
www.newtrient.com/Catalog/Technology-Catalog

18. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°18
European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform

19. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°19
ESPP: a coalition for action
• Wide objective:
phosphorus stewardship
- global food security
- circular economy
- environmental protection
- healthy diet and food safety
• Bring together:
- water & waste industries,
- mineral and organic fertilisers, chemicals,
- P-recycling technology suppliers,
- national & regional governments,
- knowledge institutes …
• Actions:
- vision & awareness
- stakeholders & networking
- dissemination
- policy and regulation dialogue
More information: www.phosphorusplatform.eu
Example: communicating success stories

20. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°20
Nutrient platforms and networks worldwide
Netherlands 2010 http://www.nutrientplatform.org/
Germany 2015 www.deutsche-phosphor-plattform.de
Baltic: ESPP works with Baltic Sea Action Group www.bsag.fi
ESPP European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform 2013
North America Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance (SPA) 2017
(launched as NAPPS in 2015) https://phosphorusalliance.org/
Japan PCPR 2011 (Phosphorus Recycling Promotion Council)
Global Partnership for Nutrient Management (UNEP)
http://www.unep.org/gpa/what-we-do/global-partnership-nutrient-management

21. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°21
How ESPP operates
Legally established
not-for-profit association
 important for transparency,
clarity of decision making,
representation
- statutes are public https://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/platform/about-espp
- EU Transparency Register no. 260483415852-40 http://ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/
100% membership funded
 key to credibility, independence
- approx. 40 paying members to date: companies, R&D institutes or projects, cities / regions / governments
 balance between different interests and industries
 in touch with reality (payment = commitment)
http://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/members

22. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°22
How ESPP operates
Decision by consensus
Mediation rather than advocacy
- enable dialogue between stakeholders
- develop shared proposals for policy
- communicate with regulators
Example: Joint Statement on the EU Fertilisers Regulation
proposal, between EU federations in the mineral fertilisers,
organic fertilisers, soil improvers, digestate, Animal By-
Products, limiting materials and wastewater industries,
20th November 2017 www.phosphorusplatform.eu/regulatory

23. EWWM Manchester 17th July 2018 – n°23
info@phosphorusplatform.eu www.phosphorusplatform.eu @phosphorusfacts
What to do with the phosphorus - a European perspective
Chris Thornton - European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform