Final Technical Report criteria and supporting rationale

Within the EU Ecolabel Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 66/2010), the European Commission carried out a revision of the EU Ecolabel criteria for ‘growing media, soil improvers and mulch’, set by Commission Decision 2015/2099 and valid until 30 June 2022. The main purpose of the final technical report is to provide background information and reasoning for the proposed EU Ecolabel criteria after revision. Although the proposed criteria were harmonised with the Fertilising Products Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 2019/1009), they set an overall higher ambition level compared to it. In general, the proposed criteria are characterised by five main features. (1) More secondary raw materials were accepted as components of the product. This incentivises circular economy and in particular promotes a more resource-efficient use of organic matter and nutrients. (2) The permitted content of contaminants, e.g. heavy metals, was decreased. This improves the safety of the products and it reduces the possible detrimental effects on humans, animals, plants or the environment in general. (3) New principles set by the latest EU strategies were included, with particular reference to biodiversity and soil. (4) The content of impurities, such as plastics, metal and glass, was proposed to the limits set by technical feasibility. (5) A more stringent requirement was set for carbon dioxide emissions produced when manufacturing mineral growing media.

KOWALSKA Malgorzata Agata;  DELRE Antonio;  WOLF Oliver; 

2022-06-17

Publications Office of the European Union

JRC129683

978-92-76-53529-4 (online),   

1831-9424 (online),   

EUR 31125 EN,    OP KJ-NA-31125-EN-N (online),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC129683,   

10.2760/748007 (online),