Compost ‘key’ to meeting UK soil quality goals

The Environment Audit Committee’s report ‘Soil Health’ recognised the importance of soil as a key ingredient to agricultural production, climate change mitigation and flood risk protection.

And, ORG has noted that soil acts as a ‘carbon sink’, ­ with carbon levels in decline since 1978 due to agricultural activity.

At the COP 21 conference in December 2015 in Paris, the government signed up to increasing soil carbon levels by 0.4% per year. Current cross compliance rules go some way to achieving this goal but fall short of advocating the use of compost as a soil improver.

Sustainable fertiliser

ORG has highlighted the importance of compost as a valuable soil improver and source of plant nutrients, claiming that the use of PAS100 quality compost both assists in the Circular Economy model as well as providing a useful and sustainable fertiliser replacement product.

PAS 100 quality compost is sustainable fertiliser of organic matter and partial artificial nutrient replacement for use in agriculture. The Digestate and Compost in Agriculture (DC-Agri) field experiments provide a robust evidence base to support the confident use of composts by farmers and growers as renewable fertilisers.

The research demonstrates that composts can increase yields with no negative impacts on crop quality or safety, and that compost can increase soil organic matter more quickly (in almost half the time) than other organic materials.

Anna Becvar, director of Earthcare Technical Ltd and member of the ORG Steering Group said: “We have seen the benefits of using compost both experimentally and on farm, a new video released by WRAP provides a good summary.”

“If we are to meet our 2030 sustainable management target mentioned in the recent EAC report, then there is an imperative to make more effective use of compost and other organic materials as soil improvers and renewable fertilisers.

“The REA calls for Government to consult with industry on how this can be achieved in its wider forthcoming 25 year environmental plan.”