New EU rules on ReNure have been formally adopted.

ReNure fertiliser is processed manure that could potentially offset the need for chemical fertiliser.

It refers to fertilising products derived from processed livestock manure, in which nutrients are recovered and transformed into forms that can substitute mineral fertilisers. 

ReNure is based on innovative techniques and produced from processed animal manure so that it can be quickly absorbed by crops, with less risk of water pollution compared with raw manure.

At the same time, to make the use of RENURE sustainable, the law includes appropriate environmental safeguards to be implemented by member states, particularly regarding the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources.

'Turning waste into value'

Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, said that with the adoption of these new rules on ReNure, Europe is "turning waste into value".

It is doing so by "reducing fertiliser imports, supporting farmers’ competitiveness and strengthening our strategic autonomy, while safeguarding water and the environment", she added.

By allowing the use of ReNure fertilisers above the existing legal limit for the application of manure and processed manure, member states and farmers will have the possibility to replace chemical fertilisers with ReNure fertilisers. 

The new rules take the form of an amendment to the Nitrates Directive. 

Proposal

In September, the European Commission announced that its advisory Nitrates Committee endorsed a proposal to allow ReNure fertiliser to be used above the normal limits on fertiliser use set out in the Nitrates Directive.

The commission's ReNure proposal would allow certain types of processed manure - specifically, digestate from AD plants that has undergone further treatment - to be classified as a chemical fertiliser rather than organic manure.

This means it would not count towards the 170kg/ha organic nitrogen (N) limit, and could be used to replace N fertiliser on farms.

The amendment will apply only to member states choosing to authorise ReNure.

They will be required to transpose the amendment into national law.