The European Compost Network (ECN), the European umbrella organisation representing the bio-waste recycling sector, urges the Members of the European Parliament and the EU Member States to promptly endorse the provisional agreement on the Soil Monitoring Law reached on 10 April 2025 to ensure a swift entry into force of the Directive.
The Soil Monitoring Law is the first-ever proposed piece of legislation on soils. The Directive aims to establish a harmonised soil monitoring framework across the EU, assessing the overall state of the soil. Although the content of the text was significantly weakened in many aspects during the legislative process, we believe it remains absolutely essential to improve the health of our soils.
Indeed, European soils are facing serious pressures. The topsoil organic carbon pool is at risk in 23% to 44% of all EU and UK agricultural land, and overall, more than 60% of soils in the EU are undergoing degradation processes. Such soil degradation is widely recognised as a cross-border issue which requires cross-border solutions. The impact assessment accompanying the Soil Monitoring Law proposal recognised that national actions have proven to be insufficient to reverse soil degradation. Therefore, the Soil Monitoring Law appears to be the right instrument to fill the legal gap on soils in both European and national legislation. This is all the more important as the lack of a dedicated legislation on soil has had – and could still have – a negative effect on soil protection and governance.
The bio-waste recycling sector produces organic soil improvers and fertilisers, namely compost and digestate, through the composting and anaerobic digestion of bio-waste. Regular application of high-quality compost and digestate on soil can improve soil health and productivity in many different ways by increasing soil organic matter and soil biodiversity, reducing soil compaction, and improving water holding capacity and soil buffering capacity.
ECN firmly reiterates its strong support for the Soil Monitoring Law and urgently calls for its adoption, emphasising that achieving healthy soils is essential and requires decisive action.