Revision of Ecolabel Decisions for Soil improvers and Growing media: EUEB March 2014 Joint Research Centre (JRC) IPTS - Institute for Prospective Technological Studies Seville - Spain http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ http://www.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

Main issues under revision Revision of mulch definition Revision of the criterion on organic ingredients Revision of the requirements for mineral constituents Harmonization with ongoing revision of Fertilizers Regulation Revision of methods and monitoring frequency of parameters Additional quality requirements for digestates 5 February 2019

Revision of mulch definition The product group "soil improvers, growing media and mulches" shall comprise: organic soil improvers growing media organic mulches Definitions Mulch: means a material used as protective covering placed around plants to prevent the loss of moisture, control weed growth, and reduce soil erosion. Organic mulch: means a mulch that only contains organic constituents Organic constituent means a constituent that performs an organic matter content > 15% dry matter. According last update about the Ongoing revision Fertilizers Regulation

Criterion on organic ingredients Organic constituents: currently derived from the processing and/or re-use of waste. Update according Waste Framework Directive Materials derived from recycling or re-use By-products, as defined in article 5 of WFD Definitions from WFD Recycled material means a material produced by mean of recycling Recycling means any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances whether for the original or other purposes Re-use means any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for which they were conceived;

Revision of methods and monitoring frequency of parameters Revised proposal on test frequency, to avoid overburden and to align to Fertilizers Regulation CEN/TC 400 vs CEN/TC 223 Standards: comparison and evaluation to revise the initial proposal Current Decisions it is set: Testing and sampling shall where applicable be carried out in accordance with test methods developed by CEN/TC 223 ‘Soil improvers and growing media’ until relevant horizontal standards elaborated under the guidance of CEN Task Force 151 ‘Horizontal’ become available (current CEN/TC 400) 5 February 2019

Quality requirements for digestates Some MS don't allow digestates in soil improvers and growing media Some stakeholders propose to forbid or restrict digestates in growing media Main issue related to digestates is the stability Under revision Proposed criterion on stability Sampling during storage and transport 5 February 2019

Thank you for your attention 5 February 2019