Suitability of Biowaste and Green Waste Composts for Organic Farming in Germany and the Resulting Utilization Potentials

Ralf Gottschall (), Maria Thelen-Jüngling, Martin Kranert and Bertram Kehres
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Ralf Gottschall: ISA-Gottschall, Ingenieurbüro für Sekundärrohstoffe, Abfall-und Kreislaufwirtschaft, Karlsbrunnenstr. 11b, 37249 Neu-Eichenberg, Germany
Maria Thelen-Jüngling: BGK-Bundesgütegemeinschaft Kompost e.V. (Federal Compost Association), Von-der-Wettern-Str. 25, 51149 Köln, Germany
Martin Kranert: Chair of Waste Management and Emissions, Institute of Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Solid Waste Management, University of Stuttgart, Bandtäle 2, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Bertram Kehres: BGK-Bundesgütegemeinschaft Kompost e.V. (Federal Compost Association), Von-der-Wettern-Str. 25, 51149 Köln, Germany

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-28

Abstract: In this study, the suitability of biowaste and green waste composts in organic farming is presented based on quality assurance data of approximately 21,000 compost analyses from 2015 to 2020. The evaluation of compost suitability was based on both the legal regulations of the EU 2021/1165 and the requirements of the two largest German organic farming associations Bioland and Naturland. In 2020, 70.1% of the composts agreed with the above-mentioned regulations, 21.6% exceeded the limits for heavy metals and 7.3% exceeded the limits for foreign matter. The negative influence of the single elements regarding the suitability of composts for organic agriculture declined in the order Zn > Pb > Cd > Ni > Cu. In the bio-waste composts, the impurity content subsequently decreased by more than 50% from 2015 to 2020. In 2019 and 2020, approximately 2.5 million Mg fresh mass (FM) of the analyzed composts were suitable for organic farming. With an average compost application of 5 Mg FM per hectare (ha) and year, about 500,000 ha of arable land could have been supplied in 2020.

Keywords: organic farming; compost quality; compost potentials; compost impurities; suitability of compost (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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