CiNURGi: Circular nutrients for a sustainable Baltic Sea Region

Name: Circular nutrients for a sustainable Baltic Sea Region (CiNURGi)

Total project budget: 6,537,861.04

Implementation time: 01/11/2023 – 31/10/2027

Project description: CiNURGi aims to link the bioeconomy with the circular economy in the Baltic Sea Region by recycling different biomasses and returning nutrients to production. This will be done by exploiting synergies between the use of biomass resource streams coming from agricultural, municipal and industrial sources. The resulting fertilizers will be suitable for use in primary production. CiNURGi will develop and promote standards for safe and sustainable nutrient recycling, supporting the Green Deal Circular Economy Action Plan, the HELCOM Regional Nutrient Recycling Strategy, the Baltic Sea Action Plan and Action 3 of the PA Nutri ESSBJR 2021 Action Plan. The project will stimulate new business models and symbioses with cross-sectoral collaboration to develop solutions, promote knowledge exchange, raise awareness and continue policy dialogue. It is clear from the EU Green Deal programme “From Farm to Fork” that sustainable agriculture needs to move towards a circular economy or “circular agronomy” and that increasing nutrient cycling is essential to reduce nutrient losses and our dependence on imported minerals and their use. The barriers to nutrient recycling are many and may depend on whether the biomass streams to be recycled are of agricultural, domestic or industrial origin. At the same time, synergies can be found in nutrient recycling from these different biomass streams, which is why CiNURGi will apply a cross-sectoral approach to developing and testing solutions to achieve our goals.

Purpose: CiNURGi aims to develop standardized common best practices for the use of nutrient cycling in the Baltic Sea region for production and management, by conducting theoretical studies using 5 different practical case studies and trials in the Baltic Sea countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.

PROJECT TASKS:

• Establish and promote standards for safe and sustainable nutrient reuse
• Develop strategies to make nutrient recovery and reuse a measure for ensuring nutrient balance at national and regional levels
• Increase consumer willingness to accept and use nutrients obtained from waste products
• Create business opportunities in the nutrient recovery and reuse sectors.
• Improve the legal framework for nutrient recovery in the Baltic Sea Region.

Activities:

• Mapping nutrient sources in Latvia.
• Trials for the use of processed nutrients in agriculture, technological and agronomic evaluation.
• Transfer of solutions, knowledge and information.
• Demonstrations of trials of the use of recycled nutrients in the agricultural sector.

Partners: 25 partners from 9 countries: Sweden, Finland, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Austria, Denmark, Lithuania.