Legislative regulations of digestate use - Eric Liegeois

Working document - does not represent consolidated views of the Commission

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A possible EU regulatory framework for Digestates:

Fertilisers, EoW criteria, Animal By-products, REACH,…

Conference of the European Biogas Association, Egmont aan Zee (NL)

1 October 2014

Eric LIEGEOIS Team Leader DG Enterprise and Industry – Unit F.2


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Which hurdles need to be crossed to put digestates on the market as fertilising materials?

From the digestor… To an EC fertiliser


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Leaving the "waste" status….


EU End-of-waste criteria for composts and digestates

•  DG JRC report released in February 2014 •  DG ENV to approve the EoW criteria?? •  DG ENTR to integrate into Fertilisers

Regulation??

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Becoming a product …hence subject to REACH as chemical….


Status of digestates under REACH

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•  A material reaching EoW status should be in principle subject to the REACH Regulation

•  Supplier must provide their customers with information allowing the material to be used safely

•  Certain materials could be subject to prior authorisation or restriction of use

•  Recovered materials exempted from REACH registration if •  the substance(s) have already been registered

("sameness principle") and the operator has access to existing data, or

•  materials are listed in Annex V (e.g. composts)


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Leaving the "unprocessed animal by-products" status….

If manure as feedstock


Status of digestates under ABPR

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•  Animal by-products Regs. provide for processing conditions for materials to be considered as being processed (art.32) before placing on the market = "sanitation" (e.g. "pasteurization" or any equivalent recognised method).

•  Under discussion: to enforce compulsory measurement of the actual level of pathogens at the end of the digestion process in order to certify that a digestate has left "the unprocessed ABP status" and can be used as fertilising materials.


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From "non-waste", "processed ABP" status to fertilising materials


DG ENTR approach to help digestates reaching the market as fertilisers

3 main reasons: (1) P= critical, (2) N-fertilisers = societal challenges, (3) create business: •  Create dynamic market place for all fertilising materials •  Meet reasonable user expectations for fertilising materials deriving

from waste: •  Including legal requirements to allow use of waste materials for

fertilising materials production •  Requiring third party examination and frequent controls of the

compliance of the products to the provisions of the Fertilisers Regulation

•  Technologically neutral 10

Scope of the future revised Fertilisers Regulation


DG ENTR approach to help digestates reaching the market as EC fertilisers

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Working document - does not represent consolidated views of

the Commission !!!!!


Marketing EU fertilisers deriving from waste: 2 steps

•  Compliance to legal requirements allowing use of processed waste materials as input materials for manufacturing fertilising materials (e.g. compost, digestate) set out in the Annexes of the Fertilisers Regulation

•  Compliance of the final fertilising material to the essential safety, quality and labelling requirements specific to its relevant category •  Compost and digestate recognised as organic fertiliser or

soil improver 13


Marketing EU fertilisers deriving from waste (2)

•  STEP 1: Legal requirements for the waste material to be considered as acceptable input materials in the FR : •  Make use of JRC conclusions for composts and digestates

•  List of input materials •  General requirements on treatment processes and techniques •  Specific list of contaminants (medicinal products,…) not

covered by the essential safety criteria for products •  Exclude wastes complying with these "legal requirements"

from the scope of the WFD (="non-waste status") •  Specify the certification procedure for waste deriving products

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Marketing EU fertilisers deriving from waste (3) STEP 1 : • We have the knowledge (through JRC report) for composts and digestates, so we can propose it • For the "others"waste-derived products: to be developped by JRC :

•  P recovery as a mineral form (struvite, ammonium sulfate from digestion process, …)

•  Biochar •  Concentration of P from biomass and direct use

in agriculture and P recovery after incineration (ashes)

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Marketing EU fertilisers deriving from waste (3)

STEP 2 • Verification of the compliance of the end products to the essential safety, quality and labelling criteria by the producer • Third party verification of the compliance of the products • Conformity assessment procedure defined in Decision (CE) N° 768/2008

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Some exceptions to the full market harmonisation goal :

National measures

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National measures on products: scenario 1

•  Products not covered by the EU Regulation could remain on the national market as non-waste (e.g. struvite) until legal requirements are developed for such products provided that: •  "National EoW" or any equivalent measure (also a national

fertiliser Regulation) shall be notified to the COM, or •  Existing National EoW procedure applies, and •  The marketing of such products is limited to the national

territory, and to other MS if accepted through Mutual Recognition

•  Otherwise, it remains a waste and the waste legislation applies

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National measures on products: scenario 2

•  When a waste is not mentioned in the EU positive list of acceptable input material for the production of a defined product, it could still be used as input material for the production of that product provided that: •  Legal requirements pointing to National product standards apply •  The marketing of such products is limited to the national

territory and to other MS if accepted through Mutual Recognition Examples: digested and composted sewage sludge

•  Otherwise, it remains a waste and the waste legislation applies

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Conclusions An ideal regulatory framework (under preparation) shall aim at the following combination of regulations at EC level: •  Fertilisers Regulation will outline rules to determine which input

materials can be considered as acceptable when deriving from waste streams such as composted and digested wastes: the Regulation will be providing legal requirements and procedures

•  Fertilisers Regulation will harmonise as much as possible conditions for placing fertilising materials on the market when they derive from these acceptable input materials

•  Animal by-products Regulation should be amended to determine conditions and procedures to leave the "unprocessed ABP status"

•  REACH registration exemption shall be extended to digestates 20


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Cutting some red tape to help digestates to be marketed as safe and reliable fertilising materials ! From the digestor… To an EC fertiliser


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Thank you for your attention !

European Commission DG Entreprise and Industry Unit F2 - Chemicals Industry Unit F.2

[email protected]

Government & Nonprofit

Legislative regulations of digestate use - Eric Liegeois