Hur säkrar man en framtida framgångsrik avsättning av biogödsel? Ansvar från bord till jord

Sammanfattning: Increased greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activity are causing climate change. This has created a need for greater production of renewable energy. Biogas produced from organic waste such as manure and municipal solid organic waste could contribute to meeting the increased demand for renewables. Through anaerobic digestion biogas is produced and the remains, the digestate, contains almost all nutrients as the substrate did but in inorganic form. Using the digestate as a fertilizer can be a way of returning nutrients to agricultural lands and decreasing the need for chemical fertilizer. An important prerequisite for producing biogas is to be able to allocate the digestate. The purpose of this study is to identify policies concerning digestate with different stakeholders and what have influenced how they are shaped. The second purpose of this study is to investigate what factors that could contribute and what barriers that need to be overcome to secure a future successful allocation of digestate. To investigate these issues qualitative interviews were carried out with eight different stakeholders from the food industry, trade associations and local authorities. Three of the stakeholders have a policy concerning digestate and certification according to SPCR 120 – a third-party verified certification for digestate – was crucial when used for their crops or products. All of the stakeholders were generally positive towards the product since it enables the recycling of nutrients to croplands. The policies and statements were influenced by different sources such as consumers, farmers, representatives from biogas plants and scientists. Some challenges mentioned are the digestates’ low nutrient content and that it is hard to spread due to high water content and also the risk of potential pathogens. Developing technology to increase the concentrations of nutrients and continued efforts to assure and improve the quality of the product will help overcoming these challenges. But what is also important is to start focusing on biogas production as a way of producing two products instead of one – biogas and digestate. Authorities on both national and regional level should set clear goals that will encourage digestate usage and acceptance with farmers, consumers and other actors in society. This too, is crucial when working towards a safe and successful use of digestate.