[Federico Battista]

I would like to raise a discussion on the criteria that would allow effluents derived from the valorisation of digestate to be classified as bio-fertilisers under the “RENURE” scheme.
As you may know, the Nitrates Directive amendment recently welcomed by the European Commission enables Member States to authorise “recovered nitrogen from manure” (RENURE) fertilisers — i.e., processed manure materials — above the standard manure application limits.
Here the link:

https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-welcomes-renure-agreement-nitrates-committee-2025-09-19_en

Given our work on digestate valorisation, we believe it is important to explore and define the specific parameters and safeguards that would ensure such effluents meet the RENURE criteria (in terms of nutrient quality, environmental safety, traceability, potential contaminants, and agronomic performance).
We would be very interested in your thoughts on this topic: for example, how implementing such criteria, whether we propose a harmonised set of metrics, and how these align with national regulatory frameworks.
We look forward to engaging in this discussion, as it can strengthen our contribution and ensure coherence with the platform’s aims.

[Elli Maria Barampouti]

Thank you for initiating this very timely and relevant discussion.
The recent developments under the Nitrates Directive and the introduction of the RENURE framework indeed open new opportunities for the valorisation of digestate-derived streams, while also raising important questions regarding compliance, safety, and agronomic effectiveness.
From our perspective, defining clear and robust criteria for classifying such effluents as bio-fertilisers under RENURE is essential. In particular, attention should be given to:
-Nutrient availability and consistency, especially the proportion of mineral nitrogen relative to total nitrogen;
-Environmental safety, including thresholds for heavy metals, organic contaminants, and pathogens;
-Process traceability and standardisation, ensuring reproducibility and transparency across different treatment technologies;
-Agronomic performance, supported by field validation under different soil and crop conditions;
-Alignment with national regulatory frameworks, which may vary in terms of acceptance and implementation pathways.
Given the diversity of digestate valorisation technologies, a harmonised yet flexible set of criteria at EU level could be highly beneficial, allowing comparability while accommodating technological innovation. At the same time, it will be important to ensure coherence with existing national regulations and practical applicability for end-users.
We would welcome the opportunity to contribute further to this discussion.

[Author]

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