New advances towards better nutrient cycle management in agriculture

The recovery process of calcium phosphate has now been approved by the European Commission to be used as a fertiliser in organic agriculture.

This is a breakthrough decision for nutrient management in the water cycle and closing the nutrient loop, minimising the need for mined phosphorus. It brings several benefits in terms of biodiversity protection, circular and sustainable solutions, and competitiveness. Clean recycled phosphorus product from incinerated sewage sludge promotes increased yields, reduced dependency on imports, and significantly improves water quality by reducing the presence of harmful substances on European farmland, hence on our underground and surface waters.

In the EU, some SMEs are already capable of deploying such techniques and solutions, recovering more than 90% of the phosphorus in incinerated sewage sludge ash for fertilisers. This demonstrates how environmental standards and competitiveness and innovation work together.

See more information here.