Opname van struviet als categorie in het Uitvoeringsbesluit Meststoffenwet: advies

Only products, wastes and by-products designated by the Fertiliser Act can be freely traded as fertiliser in theNetherlands. Permitted fertilisers are listed in Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 and wastes and by-products that canbe traded as fertiliser or as secondary raw material for fertiliser production are listed in Annex Aa of the implementingregulation of the Fertiliser Act. Wastes and by-products can be used as a fertiliser or a secondary raw materialif the criteria given in the Protocol for assessing the value and risks of waste used as fertiliser are met. Struvite is amagnesium ammonium phosphate (NH4MgPO4.6H2O) and is one of the forms in which phosphate can be recoveredfrom wastewater or process water. This origin means that struvite is classified as a waste, and as it is not listed inAnnex Aa the Fertiliser Act prohibits its use as a fertiliser. This publication reports on a study to formulate criteriafor lifting this waste status in accordance with the protocol. Depending on its quality, struvite acts as a fast-releaseor slow-release fertiliser. Due to the different techniques that are available for struvite formation, the differentwaste streams – municipal wastewater, effluent from manure processing, process water from the food manufacturingindustry – and different chemical polishing treatment processes, struvite can come in a range of qualities withdifferent concentrations of contaminants and may possibly contain pathogens. For the Ministry of Economic Affairs,the Scientific Committee on the Nutrient Management Policy has prepared an advice on including struvite in theFertiliser Act, with criteria. The study was based on literature research and consultation with stakeholders. Struviteis often co-precipitated with other phosphate minerals, such as phosphates of calcium, magnesium and iron, and anumber of these phosphates are present in struvite products. The advice covers this range of recovered phosphates