Indicator for nutrient recycling

Nutrient recycling means the return of nutrients from nutrient-rich waste, residues and by-products from agriculture, industry and municipalities for reuse. The focus is usually on the main nutrients, i.e. nitrogen and phosphorus, but potassium and trace elements can also be recycled. The main use of recycled nutrients is fertilization in agricultural plant production, but recycled nutrients can also be utilized in landscaping, gardens, growing media and industry. Since nutrient-rich recyclable biomasses usually also contain a lot of organic matter, its circulation is also an essential part of nutrient recycling.  

Finland has long sought to improve the efficiency of nutrient recycling, and recycling has been promoted, for example, through measures in several government programmes. To assess the effectiveness of the policy instruments aimed at promoting nutrient recycling, to target the necessary measures, and to monitor the development of the market for recycled nutrients, Natural Resources Institute Finland collects information on nutrient recycling. Information is published using this indicator for nutrient recycling in addition to various publications and communication activities. 

The nutrient recycling indicator is divided into the following four parts: 

• Nutrient recycling potential 
• Processing and end-use of nutrient-rich biomasses  
• Production of recycled fertilizing products  
• Adequacy of recycled nutrients compared to fertilization demand (section under construction)  

The presented data describe the potential for nutrient recycling and the current situation. The indicator shows the amount (mass) of biomasses and their organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus contents by region. The results of the indicator were first published at the end of 2022 and were updated in autumn 2023. The latest update will be made during 2026.  

The indicator divides nutrient-rich biomass into the following categories:  

Livestock manure:  

• Cattle manure (slurry, solid manure and urine)  
• Pig manure (slurry, solid manure and urine)  
• Poultry manure (solid manure)  
• Horse and pony manure (solid manure)  
• Sheep and goat manure (solid manure)  
• Fur animal manure (solid manure)  

Sewage sludge: The amount of raw sewage sludge at wastewater treatment plants before drying based on a coefficient per capita and the number of inhabitants (dry matter content 3.2%)  

Municipal biowaste: The amount of source-sorted biowaste based on a coefficient per capita and the number of inhabitants  

Nutrient-rich side streams from industry: Includes various food industry side and waste streams (including animal by-products and sludges, plant waste, dairy and milk waste, beverage manufacturing waste, bakery waste, fatty waste). 

The regional nutrient recycling potential can be examined by biomass both nationally and by province. The variables to be selected per biomass are the annual total amount (mass) and the total amount of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus. This page now presents the results of the update made in 2026. Previous data can be found in the database tables. 

Biomass processing aims to recover energy and nutrients as processed end-products. Here, flow charts are presented showing how nutrient-rich biomasses end up in various processing operations and are then used in agriculture or other end uses. The charts are based on the biomass amounts presented above and a rough estimate of the current state of biomass processing and use during 2023–2025. The shares of different processes per biomass are also available in the database tables for the previous assessment year (2021–2022). 

In biomass processing, longer processing chains are not presented, but the aim of the charts is to provide an overview of the most common processing technologies used. The technologies consider typical mass and nutrient separation efficiencies of each process. The separation efficiencies and the utilization of the biomasses and their processed end-products in agriculture or other uses are based on the shares used in the Nutrient Calculator tool, which is based on literature, expert assessments and information received from operators of processing facilities. 

Losses during processing (e.g. water evaporation, organic matter decomposition and nitrogen losses) are considered in the calculation. However, losses during storage of biomasses and processed end-products are not.  

The charts can be accessed using the arrows below the figure. 

The figures are not accessible, but you can ask the contact persons mentioned at the bottom of this page for more information about their content.

The processing of biomasses into recycled fertilizing products aims at separating and concentrating nutrients to thus improve transportability. However, the transport of biomasses and produced end-products from one region to another is difficult to trace due to fragmented data collection. 

The production of recycled fertilizing products can be examined using data from the Finnish Food Authority's control register of fertilizing products placed on the market (situation 2020). The maps show the location of the processing plants and the mass of the fertilizer product produced, as well as the amounts of nutrients and organic matter. The background map depicts the regional biomass potential for nutrient recycling (situation 2021-2022) in the same parameters. 

• Soil improvers refer to products intended to improve soil condition whose effect is based primarily on something other than plant nutrients, but which often contain nutrients.  
• Organic fertilizers are products of biological origin, whose effect is based primarily on plant nutrients. 

The amount and regional location of phosphorus in nutrient-rich biomasses can be compared with the fertilization need of plant production in the same areas. The fertilization need can be estimated according to the studied phosphorus fertilization need of plants (Lemola et al. 2023) or the fertilization limits of the so-called Phosphorus Decree (64/2023). 

This section is under construction with information on the adequacy of recycled nutrients compared to the fertilization need of plant production. 

The data sources of the indicator for nutrient recycling are available in the report Luostarinen et al. 2023 (in Finnish). The data sources are also summarized below for the 2026 update of the indicator. 

Manure data is the same as in Biomass atlas. The amount and properties of manure are based on the Finnish normative manure system (Luostarinen ym. 2017a, Luostarinen ym. 2017b) by matching them with information on farm location and livestock numbers (cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep and goats: Finnish Food Authority 2025, horses and ponies: Hippos 2025, fur animals: Fifur 2025). Manure data is calculated as manure ex housing without manure left of pasture. 

Data on sewage sludge are based on the amount of sewage sludge produced in 2023 (Finnish Environment Institute), including data sewage sludge produced on wastewater treatment plants as tons of dry matter. The amount of sewage sludge is then multiplied with population data from 2024 (69.02 g dry matter per capita per day). The amount of sewage sludge describes the situation on wastewater treatment plants prior to any drying /dry matter content 3.2%). The nitrogen and phosphorus contents are based on literature on Finnish sewage sludge (N: 5.5 % dm, P: 3% dm). 

The amount of municipal biowaste in 2023 is also based on data from Finnish Environment Institute. Source-sorted municipal biowaste contains biodegradable waste from kitchens and canteens and waste from gardens and parks. Their amount per capita was 72 kg per year. The population data was from 2023 matching the data presented in Biomass atlas. The properties of biowaste are based on literature on Finnish biowaste (dm: 28%, N: 2.2% dm, P: 0.4% dm). 

Nutrient-rich biomasses from industry include data from environmental authorities (2023). The data include information from the reports of environmental permits (biodegrable waste from the point-of-origin). Properties for different types of waste streams are based on the literature review (Luostarinen et al. 2023). 

Updated 26.6.2026