Our commitment to sustainable farming
Our commitment to sustainable farming
SoilWorx organic fertiliser is built on a circular economy model. The raw materials come from the food industry. The finished product goes back to the land. Nutrients and carbon that would otherwise end up in a lagoon or at a disposal site are returned to the soil in a controlled, certified, agronomically useful form.
This is not a sustainability commitment added to a conventional business model. It is the business model.
The circular economy in practice
The raw materials for SoilWorx fertiliser are by-products of UK food and agricultural production: poultry manure, feather meal, bone meal and seaweed. Without processing into fertiliser, these materials create disposal challenges. Stored or spread without treatment, they risk polluting watercourses, releasing pathogens and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.
SoilWorx converts these materials into premium, certified organic fertiliser. In doing so:
- Waste materials are given productive value rather than becoming a disposal problem.
- Nutrients return to the land in a concentrated, controlled form rather than leaching into watercourses.
- Synthetic fertiliser production is displaced, avoiding the energy-intensive manufacture of nitrogen from natural gas.
- Carbon that would be released from decomposing waste is instead incorporated into the soil.
Soil carbon and organic matter
Healthy soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and all living vegetation combined. Building soil organic matter is one of the most accessible routes for farmers to contribute to carbon sequestration.
SoilWorx fertilisers contain 60–75%+ organic matter. Every application adds organic carbon directly to the soil. Some is mineralised by soil microbes to release nutrients: that is part of the product’s value as a fertiliser. A proportion is stabilised into longer-term soil organic carbon fractions, contributing to a gradual increase in soil carbon stocks season on season.
Field research conducted with Rothamsted Research has shown that regular organic matter additions produce a measurable cumulative increase in soil carbon over 5–10 years. You can measure the improvement.
Read our article on Carbon Farming: how organis fertiliser helps store carbon in soil
Lower environmental impact than synthetic alternatives
Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is manufactured from natural gas using the Haber-Bosch process. It is one of the most energy-intensive industrial processes in routine use worldwide, and its cost and availability are tied directly to global gas markets. The price volatility of 2021 and 2022 illustrated that dependency clearly.
SoilWorx organic fertiliser uses UK-sourced biological materials. Its production does not require gas-based nitrogen synthesis. Its slow-release nutrient delivery reduces nitrous oxide emissions and leaching losses compared with soluble synthetic fertilisers. And unlike synthetic inputs, every tonne applied improves the soil it contacts rather than leaving it chemically unchanged.
Certified organic
SoilWorx products hold two independent organic certifications:
OMRI Listed (Organic Materials Review Institute)
Organic Trust certified
These certifications require independently audited compliance with standards covering raw material traceability, heat treatment validation, contamination prevention and manufacturing controls. Both are renewed annually.
Heat treatment and safety
Heat treatment above 70°C eliminates pathogens, weed seeds and harmful bacteria in every batch. This step protects the people using our products, the soils they apply them to, and the crops that grow in those soils. Our products are safe for use on Class 1 vegetables, food crops and in public-access areas including sports grounds and parks.
Supporting scheme compliance
Including SoilWorx in your nutrition programme can support compliance with a range of environmental and agricultural schemes:
- Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI): organic matter additions directly support soil health actions under SFI in England.
- NVZ nutrient management: our products support NVZ compliance by improving soil structure and reducing leaching risk; NVZ spreading rules and closed periods still apply.
- Organic certification: OMRI Listed and Organic Trust certified products are accepted inputs in fully organic production systems.
- Carbon and sustainability reporting: documented use of certified organic fertiliser can support farm-level carbon accounting and sustainability reporting.
Want to find out more?
Read more about our manufacturing process, or contact us to discuss how SoilWorx fits your sustainability programme.