Phosphorus
A vital non-renewable resource
A briefing paper from Premier Waste Management
Phosphorus (P) is essential for the growth of all living organisms, including plants and animals.
Crucially, most of the phosphorus in soils is not available to plants, so it is necessary to apply
phosphate fertilizer to increase and sustain crop yields. Modern agriculture is dependent on
phosphate fertilizer inputs to sustain high crop yields, maintain soil fertility and replenish nutrients removed during crop harvest. Over ninety percent of worldwide demand for phosphate is for food production. Of the remaining ten percent cleaning products are the next biggest user of phosphates followed by livestock and human food additives, and other industrial processes such as toothpaste manufacture.
Phosphate fertilizer is mostly obtained from mined rock phosphate; a finite non-renewable resource (mineral phosphorus in rock phosphate was formed 10-15 million years ago) for which there is no artificial substitute. Since the end of World War II, global extraction of phosphate rock has tripled to meet industrial agricultural demand for fertilizer (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). In contrast, while demand for phosphate is expected to continue to grow the expected peak in phosphorus production is expected to occur around 2030.
Download a PDF of the phosphorus briefing paper.
