H2020 projects release joint position paper on quality recycled nutrients

Five pioneering Horizon 2020 projects—LEX4BIO, FERTIMANURE, SEA2LAND, RUSTICA, and WalNUT—have come together to release a comprehensive joint position paper titled "Bio-based Fertilising Products: Quality, Safety, and Alignment with EU Regulation."

The position paper is one of the outcomes of the Nutrient in Europe Research Meeting (NERM) event, held in Brussels on 16 and 17 April 2024 and organised by the above-mentioned projects and the European Sustainable Phosphorous Platform (ESPP).

This collaborative effort remarks the importance of bio-based fertilisers (BBFs) in meeting the future fertilisation needs of European agriculture and ensuring food security, expressing the need for a clear, harmonised definition of BBFs. The projects emphasise that BBFs should be derived from biomass, excluding materials embedded in geological formations or fossilised. Additionally, BBFs should meet specific criteria regarding nutrient content, storability, stability, and low levels of contaminants.

The paper highlights extensive agronomic assessments conducted by the projects, involving over 35 field trials and 40 greenhouse/pot tests across various European climatic and soil conditions. These trials have shown that BBFs can compete with conventional fertilisers in terms of quality and environmental performance, provided their application rates are carefully managed.

The publication also calls for continued collaboration with external stakeholders to achieve a consensus on BBF definitions and to incorporate these definitions into EU regulations. The need for long-term field trials to validate the agronomic efficiency of BBFs in varying climatic conditions is emphasised. Furthermore, the projects urge the European Commission to work with CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) to establish EU standards for BBFs and methodologies for measuring their bio-based content.

Ensuring the safety of BBFs is as crucial as demonstrating their agronomic benefits. The paper discusses the comprehensive assessments conducted on potential pollutants in BBFs, including persistent organic pollutants, plastics, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. The projects advocate for harmonised methodologies to assess these pollutants, ensuring the safety of food, soil, and human health.

BBFs can significantly reduce Europe's dependency on imported mineral fertilisers and contribute to the circular economy, since most of the European demand for phosphorus (P) fertilisation can be met by recycling P from various sources like food processing, manure, and municipal waste. The projects also highlight the need to consider additional technological processes for pathogen removal in BBFs, ensuring they meet the quality and safety standards without requiring additional sanitation steps.

The signatory projects collectively recommend specific steps to policymakers, including defining and supporting the term "bio-based" within the EU Fertilising Products Regulation, funding long-term field trials, and developing policies to promote the use of BBFs. These measures are seen as crucial for the wider adoption of BBFs and the transition towards sustainable and resilient agricultural practices in Europe.

Francisco Corona, WalNUT coordinator and circular economy researcher at CARTIF, commented:

"The joint effort should enhance the crucial role of bio-based fertilisers, meeting stringent criteria for nutrient content, storability, stability, and low contaminant levels. This will address the fertiliser demands of European agriculture, secure the food supply, and offer a competitive alternative to conventional fertilisers in terms of quality, performance, and environmental sustainability"

The full version of the position paper is available at: http://walnutproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/H2020-projects-jont-position-paper-QUALITY-recycled-nutrients.pdf

For more information on the signatory projects, please visit:

· LEX4BIO: https://lex4bio.eu/

· FERTIMANURE: https://www.fertimanure.eu/en/

· SEA2LAND: https://sea2landproject.eu/

· RUSTICA : https://rusticaproject.eu/

· WalNUT: https://walnutproject.eu/

· European Sustainable Phosphorous Platform: https://www.phosphorusplatform.eu/

For further information, please contact:

· Francisco Corona (CARTIF), WalNUT project coordinator: fraenc@cartif.es

· Francesco Agresta (ICONS), WalNUT communication manager: francesco.agresta@icons.it

Picture by Dan Meyers from Unsplash

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