The project focuses on quantifying the phosphorus balance of the Netherlands (agriculture, industry and households) and the exploration of the possibilities to improve this (reducing accumulation in agriculture, increase recycling from industry and households). The survey shows that there is a large surplus. For a significant part, this surplus ends up on agricultural land (30%) and in waste management (55%). The remaining 15% of the surplus ends up in the surface water via leaching. So to improve the situation, the focus must be particularly on more recycling from the waste sector (eg by making fertilizer-P) and the further reduction of the soil accumulation in agriculture. However, It should be emphasized that in the Netherlands itself there is no room to use recycled P, it will have to be exported to avoid increase of the accumulation on farmland. The project was completed in 2015.
For further information please contact Wim van Dijk, tel.: 0320-291543.
