RUSTICA aims at bio-based and circular systems to accomplish optimal plant supply and soil quality. As such, legislation on products for fertilising purposes will be essential for the exploitation and impact of the project.
By introducing EU-wide harmonised rules for a range of product function categories (PFCs) and subcategories including but not limited to organic, inorganic and organo-mineral fertilisers, a revolutionary concept is presented by the new EU Fertilising Products Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 (FPR).
The FPR entered into force at 16th of July 2022 and defines pathways for waste and by-products in the context of the Directive on waste 2008/98/EC. It is referred to the REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, and conditions concerning (EC) No 1069/2009 (Animal by-products Regulation) are indicated.
Figure 1: RUSTICA – Important basic products or building blocks for bio-based and circular systems
Comprising 14 component material categories (CMCs) at the moment, the amended FPR presents terms for placing on the market of biochar and compost. At the same time, legal provisions are established if liquid NPK fertilisers strive for CE-marking. According to valorisation routes encompassing insects, CMCs that link to animal by-products and derived products are of particular interest. Furthermore, information on eligibility of micro-organisms as component materials is given in the Preamble, and stipulations on CMCs are included for a selected number of them, e.g., in Annex II of the FPR.
Requirements are thoroughly determined for all of the PFCs, and Fertilising Product Blends with their compositions are addressed by the new FPR as well. Moreover, precise prescriptions on conformity assessment procedures and labelling of an EU Fertilising Product are laid down in the FPR.
RUSTICA investigates a broad spectrum of substances towards sustainable fertiliser production and application. Since the FPR contains very specific details on each CMC and PFC: not only final products and blends but also types of feedstocks and processing routes will be decisive for individual value chains targeting EU Fertilising Products.
22.08.2022
Adelheid Wiedemann
Wiedemann GmbH (www.wiedemann-gmbh.eu)
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