Ravinteet kiertoon – vesistöt kuntoon | Kiertotalouden kärkihankkeen lähtölaukaus | Recycle nutrients for clear waters | Forum for Action 19.– 20.4.2016

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

3. …to a Circular Economy
3

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)

10. 10

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