P2GreeN’s overall objective is to foster a paradigm shift, from a linearly organised resource and nutrient system within the agri-food supply chain, towards a circular material flow system between urban and rural areas thereby restoring the coupling of the water-agri-food system using a holistic symbiotic resource management approach following the 3R principle “Reduce, Reuse, Recover”.
To achieve this, P2GreeN will develop new circular governance solutions for the transition from fork to farm to halt and eliminate N & P pollution by connecting blue urban with green rural infrastructure, focussing on circular nutrient flows of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). This objective will be achieved through the implementation and exploration of innovative N & P recovery solutions for the utilisation of human sanitary waste from urban settlements and its conversion into safe bio-based fertilisers for agricultural production in three pilot regions (P2GreeN pilot regions) on a north-south trajectory from the Baltic Sea region via the metropolitan area of Hamburg-Hannover to the region of Axarquia in Southern Spain and by multiplying the impact via four follower regions in Hungary, Italy, France and Greece.
TheP2GreeN pilot regions will provide an operational environment to develop, adapt and demonstrate innovative circular systems for the utilisation of human sanitary waste from urban settlements and its conversion into safe bio-based fertilisers for agricultural production and thus create innovative governance solutions at the water-agri-food nexus. P2GreeN will close nutrient cycles of N & P to foster the transition towards a circular and clean economy (green transition) as well as supporting sustainable food systems from farm to fork offering viable alternatives to reduce the current usage of mineral fertilisers with innovative Green bio-based fertilisers and thus minimise the pressure on the natural resources, specifically water and soil. P2GreeN will further enable policy makers to replicate P2GreeN’s sustainable regional circular economy models in all regional settings across Europe.
A consortium of 32 partner organisations from 12 European countries and Switzerland aiming to “close the gap between fork and farm for circular nutrient flows” short P2GreeN, signed the Grant Agreement for a four-year Horizon Europe Project, starting on the first of December 2022. The project is coordinated by agrathaer GmbH and Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ) e.V. Our Institute is one of the project partners, our colleagues, Viktor Varjú and Ágnes Óvári were taking part in the kick off meeting of the project on 11-13. January in Hannover.
For further information see the central website of the project: https://p2green.eu/
