1. Essential safety and quality requirements for fertilising materials
Fertilisers Working Group meeting
17th March 2014 1

2. Source of information
Outcomes of the Technical Working Groups (TWGs) of 2012 including the comments received after December 2012
Consultation of stakeholders during the preparation of the impact assessment report
Report of JRC Sevilla on EU EoW criteria for biodegradable waste
The proposed tolerances discussed in 2012 were also taken into account.

3. General principles : safety
Safety of products must be ensured
Limit values based on scientific evidence and peer-reviewed
Limit values specific to each product categories taking into account their application rates
Critical materials (e.g. raw sewage sludge) should be listed in a negative list

4. Review of the list of contaminants
Current list of contaminants : based on current practices
Risk-based limits are desirable in the long term
Safeguard clause of Reg 2003/2003 to be kept but mitigation measures are temporary
Revision of the Water Framework Directive or the limit values for contaminants in foodstuffs would trigger the revision of contaminants list where relevant for fertilisers
REACH restriction mechanisms as a possible way to ban hazardous substances present in fertilisers (with the help of existing REACH committees – RAC+SEAC )

5. General principles : efficacy
Minimum quality requirements should help distinguishing products without stifling innovation
Minimum quality requirements should be specififc to each product category
Labelling information should help farmers to make optimal use of fertilising materials
Member States should recommend application rates for fertilising materials based on labelling information and their specific soil and climatic conditions

6. Inorganic fertilisers – Max
Inorganic fertilisers – Max. limit values for heavy metals in primary and secondary nutrient fertilisers
Substance
Max. Content (mg/kg dry matter)
Cd (for products containing less than 5% P2O5) 3
Cd for products > 5% P2O5
EU limit 60. Opt-in 40 or 20
Cr VI 2 Hg Ni
120 Pb
150 As 60

7. Inorganic fertilisers – Max
Inorganic fertilisers – Max. limit values for heavy metals in micronutrient fertilisers-Minutes FWG
Heavy metal
Upper limit for heavy metal (mg heavy metal/kg micronutrients) for straight or mixtures of B, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo or Zn fertilisers As
1000 Cd
200 Pb
600 Hg
100 Ni
2000

8. Inorganic fertiliser – Minimum nutrient content
Two different views on the minimum nutrient content for inorganic fertilisers.
Some Member States would support rather low limits for solid and fluid fertilisers to take into account products for specialist home use and horticulture adapted for low nutrient requirements and allow flexibility in the composition of NPK
Other Member States supported higher values (min. 3%) to prevent dilution of fertiliser with hazardous material and ensures the quality of products.

9. Inorganic fertiliser – Minimum nutrient content
A. Solid primary and secondary inorganic fertilisers
Minimum nutrient content on dry matter (individual value qualifies the product as an inorganic fertiliser)
N total: 2 %
P2O5 total : 1%
Water-soluble K2O: 1,5%
MgO (min. limit not yet defined)
CaO (min. limit not yet defined)
Na2O (min. limit not yet defined)
SO3 (min. limit not yet defined)

10. Inorganic fertiliser – Minimum nutrient content
B. Fluid primary and secondary inorganic fertilisers
Minimum nutrient content on commercialised products (individual value qualifies the product as an inorganic fertiliser)
N total: 1%
P2O5 total :0,3%
Water-soluble K2O : 0,5%
MgO (min. limit not yet defined)
CaO (min. limit not yet defined)
Na2O (min. limit not yet defined)
SO3 (min. limit not yet defined)

11. Inorganic fertiliser – Minimum nutrient content
C. Micronutrient inorganic fertilisers (solid and fluid)
Solid (percentage by weight of product)
Fluid (percentage by weight of product)
Micronutrient 5 2

12. Organic fertilisers – Max
Organic fertilisers – Max. limit values for contaminants (proposed by EU EoW)
Substance
Max. conc. (mg/kg dry matter)
Cd (for products containing less than 5% P2O5)
1,5
Cr VI
0,5 Hg 1 Ni 50 Pb
120 Cu
200 Zn
600
PAHs (16 congeners) 6

13. Organic fertilisers – Max. limit values for microorganisms – EU EoW
Pathogens
Maximum limit values
Salmonella spp
No Salmonella species in 25 g sample
Escherischia coli
1000 CFU/g product

14. Organic fertilisers – Max
Organic fertilisers – Max. limit values for viable weeds and propagules – EU EoW
2 viable weed seeds per liter of compost/digestate

15. Organic fertilisers – Max
Organic fertilisers – Max. limit values for macroscopic impurities – EU EoW
0,5% on dry matter weight for glass, metal and plastics above 2 mm to be determined by dry sieving method.
Stone exceeding 5 mm : no proposed maximum limit value

16. Organic fertilisers – Quality requirements
Minimum organic matter content (expressed on dry matter)
No mimimum organic matter content
Minimum nutrient content on dry matter (individual values qualifies the product as organic fertiliser
N total: 1,5%
P2O5 total: 0,5%
Water-soluble K2O: 0,75%
Corg/Norg ratio
No minimum or maximum requirements but information should be labelled

17. Organo-mineral fertiliser
Split views between Member States on the need for such category
Essential agronomic criteria proposed by some Member States limited to minimum nutrient and organic matter content: not enough to justify the creation of a specific product category, the market can differentiate these O-M fertilisers
Need to define more specific essential criteria enhancing the added value of such product (e.g. kinetic of release of nutrients if appropriate) that makes them different from blends
Safety criteria: proposal to use the limit values defined for organic fertilisers

18. Liming materials – minimum quality requirements
Minimum NV : 15 (equivalent CaO)
9 (equivalent OH)
Determined on the commercialised product

19. Liming materials – Max. limit values for contaminants
Substance
Max. conc. (mg/kg dry matter) Cd 3
Cr VI
Standard in development Hg 2 Ni 90 Pb
200 As
120

20. Organic soil improver – Quality criteria (EU EoW)
Minimum organic matter content (expressed on dry matter)
15%
Minimum nutrient content on dry matter
No minimum requirements but the total N and P content must be declared + water-soluble K
Corg/Norg ratio
< 15%

21. Organic soil improver – max limits for contaminants – EU EoW criteria

22. Growing media – Safety criteria
Maximum limit values for contaminants in GM (mg/kg dry matter)
Contaminant
Mg/kg dry matter Cd 3
Cr total
150 Cu
230 Hg 1 Ni 90 Pb Zn
500

23. Way forward Comments are welcome until the end of May
Next Fertilisers Working Group: presentation of the labelling requirements