This consultation closed Wednesday 10th June 2026.
About the Consultation
On 19th March 2026, Defra, in collaboration with all four governments, published a consultation and call for evidence into the reform of regulation for fertilisers in the UK. The closing date for responses is Wednesday 10th June 2026.
The UK government, the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive worked together on proposals to repeal existing fertiliser product legislation and replace it with a new regulatory framework – the UK Fertilising Product Regulations (UK FPR) – for placing products on the market in the UK.
The proposed reforms of UK fertilisers legislation aim to support innovation in the fertiliser sector by simplifying the route to market for fertilising products which are less polluting to the environment and/or resource intensive to produce, as well as increasing user confidence in a more diverse range of fertilising products.
All four governments sought views on the proposals as well as evidence on newer and novel fertilising products to inform future development of UK fertilisers legislation.
REA Response
This consultation closed 10th June 2026. Read the consultation in full here. Read the REA response here.
BBIA response
The REA has also contributed to the BBIA’s response to this consultation. Their response welcomed Defra’s proposal to include biostimulants and called for inclusion of ‘biodegradable technical additives’ and biodegradable polymers for use in coating agents, improving water retention / wettability of fertilising products and for use as binding materials in growing media. The BBIA strongly encouraged Defra to adopt criteria equivalent to those in the EU Fertilising Products Regulation (EU 2019/1009), as amended by delegated regulation EU 2024/2770. Its response also recommended that Defra establish a pathway towards future inclusion of mulch films certified biodegradable in soil and aquatic environments. (Criteria applicable to such products have been set in part of the EU FPR, as amended by EU delegated regulation 2024/2787.) The BBIA’s response also supported ‘continued development of clear regulatory pathways for compost, anaerobic digestate, other types of bulky organic fertilisers, recycled nutrient products, biological and other circular-economy-derived materials’ [for use as products].