27 Jun Lystek Commits to the Phosphorus Sustainability Challenge
2019 – Phosphorus (P) is one of the most critical nutrients for crop production. Global rock phosphate reserves are non-renewable and being depleted by the need to extract P for fertilizer production. At the same time, water quality in rivers, lakes and coastal areas are being degraded due to excess P entering waterways. Both water quality and agricultural crop production depend on more sustainable use of P globally.
The Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance is situated at Arizona State University. It is a membership-based organization and serves as North America’s central forum and advocate for the sustainable use, recovery, and recycling of phosphorus in the food system. The Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance has launched a Phosphorus Sustainability Challenge “to inspire meaningful commitments from all types of organizations – public, private, large and small – to reduce our collective phosphorus footprint and the ill effects of phosphorus pollution on our waters.”
We are proud to announce our commitment to the Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance’s Phosphorus Sustainability Challenge:
Lystek will recover over 1.2 million tonnes of biosolids (>7,200 tonnes of P2O5) in North America by the end of 2020 for use in its LysteGro fertilizer product for agricultural crop production. All land application of material will be completed according to internal best management practices, which exceed regulatory requirements for land application of fertilizers/Class A biosolids in Canada and the United States.
The challenge focuses on 10 specific goals, ranging from the more judicious use of phosphorus on landscapes and cropland to recovering phosphorus from surface waters. Our commitment addresses three of the challenge goals: using phosphorus on croplands more judiciously, removing phosphorus from human and animal waste streams, and sustainably reusing/recycling phosphorus.
Matt Scholz, Program Manager for the Alliance, states “It’s never easy being first, but Lystek has demonstrated great leadership by becoming the first organization in North America to commit to this new Challenge. This speaks volumes about them.”
We would like to challenge other organizations to get involved and make a commitment to phosphorus sustainability by signing up for the #phosphoruschallenge through the program.