Safe Fertilizer Information Institute

Safe Food and Fertilizer is a grassroots citizens’ organization whose mission is to protect human health and the environment by advocating for a ban on the use of hazardous and other industrial wastes in fertilizer, soil amendments and animal feed.

Waste-derived fertilizers is a major portion of SFF's work.

The AAPFCO is an organization of fertilizer control officials from each state in the United States, from Canada and from Puerto Rico who are actively engaged in the administration of fertilizer laws and regulations; and, research workers employed by these governments who are engaged in any investigation concerning mixed fertilizers, fertilizer materials, their effect, and/or their component parts. 

Waste-derived fertilizers is a sub-part of AAPFCO's work on fertilizer standards.

Provides access to agricultural law resources on the internet.

A galvanizing effort to save the family farm helped spawn the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). In 1986, IATP began documenting the underlying causes of America's rural crisis and proposing policies that would benefit farmers, consumers, rural communities and the environment.

Waste-derived fertilizers is a sub-part of IATP's work on Food and Health.

EWG's mission is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. EWG specializes in providing useful resources to consumers while simultaneously pushing for national policy change.

Several informative articles on waste-derived fertilizers - use the search function key words "fertilizer toxic"

Oregon Toxics Alliance is taking a leading role to systematically challenge the root causes of toxic pollution in Oregon and to provide direct-action on local projects to empower citizens to actively protect themselves and their communities. They provide the scientific and organizational resources to confront the assumption that regulatory agencies can predict the capacity of children and all living organisms to withstand relentless toxics exposures. 

Waste-derived fertilizers was a major campaign during 2002-2004 and OTA was a co-petitioner on the lawsuit Safe Food & Fertilizer v. EPA, 350 F.3d 1263, D.C. Cir. 2003.

The Center for Health, Environment & Justice's BE SAFE campaign is a nationwide initiative to build support for the precautionary approach and prevent pollution and environmental destruction before it happens. The precautionary approach shifts the questions we ask about environmental hazards from "what level of harm is acceptable?" to "how can we prevent harm?"

This is an excellent site for links to health and environmental organizations and materials on the Precautionary Principle. 

In coordination with the Oregon Toxic Alliance, they produced Be Safe dedicated to waste-derived fertilizers.

Pennsylvania Environmental Network (PEN), formed to address the problems associated with living too close to industrial waste that has been haphazardly disposed of. The fruits of their labors gave birth to a statewide organization that has swelled at times to almost 1500 active members all working against waste disposal issues in one form or another. The list of issues have addressed have included but are not limited to: landfills, hazardous waste incinerators, polyurethane production, soil burners, nuclear waste transportation, and garbage to energy incinerators.

Grassroots political action group focusing on, primarily, sludge-derived fertilizers.  Their focus is: establish a national clearinghouse on sludge information, advocate labeling of food and animal products grown on sewage sludge so consumers can decide whether or not to buy those products, raise awareness of the risks with farmers, food processors and the public, and to develop a plain English guide to the terms and definitions used by government regulators and the waste disposal industry.

Charlotte Hartman, National Coordinator, 180 Boston Corners Road, Millerton, NY 12546
(518) 329-2120 (phone/fax) email: chartmannsa@taconic.net

CALPIRG is working to maintain and strengthen food protections by calling on Congress to reject the industry’s attack on food safety laws.  See the CalPIRG produced white-paper "Wastelands" on the "Court, Law Reviews, Other" tab of this website.

Fighting waste-derived fertilizers was a major CalPIRG campaign in 2001.

CAST assembles, interprets, and communicates credible, science-based information regionally, nationally, and internationally to legislators, regulators, policymakers, the media, the private sector, and the public.  It is a nonprofit organization composed of scientific societies and many individual, student, company, nonprofit, and associate society members.

The National Agricultural Library is one of four national libraries of the United States, with locations in Beltsville, Maryland and Washington, D.C. It houses one of the world's largest and most accessible agricultural information collections and serves as the nexus for a national network of state land-grant and U.S. Department of Agriculture field libraries.

Provides leadership in partnerships with private land owners and managers to conserve their soil, water, and other natural resources. Provide financial assistance for conservation activities, voluntary conservation technical assistance to land-users, communities and government to plan and implement conservation systems.  They provide technical expertise in soil science and leadership for soil surveys and for the National Resources Inventory, which assesses natural resource conditions and trends in the United States. They provide technical assistance to foreign governments, and participate in international scientific and technical exchanges.

The NASDA is a nonprofit association of public officials representing the Commissioners, Secretaries, and Directors of Agriculture in the fifty states and four territories. The NASDA Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation for education and scientific purposes.
National Center for Agricultural Law Research and Information The National Center for Agricultural Law Research and Information (Center) was created
in 1987 under Public Law 100-202, 101 Stat. 1329-30 to address the complex legal issues that affect American agriculture. The Center focuses its efforts on research, writing, publishing,development of library services, and the dissemination of information to the public. The Center is located at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (see link above).

Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) is a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health. EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and its content is free online.

A few articles about waste-derived fertilizers.

ICEH has 2 main focus: 1) to coordinate collaborative strategizing among the varied environmental health-focused organizations and institutions in order to mitigate duplicative efforts and diffuse tension over "turf" issues; and 2) produce a project-based environmental health and justice program that could be introduced into existing youth forums and schools to activate the next generation on environmental health and justice concerns.

While this organization does not include a program specifically covering waste-derived fertilizers, they have extensive library and active programs documenting environmental impacts to children's health.

Purpose:...to promote uniformity of analytical methods and procedures for representative sampling for phosphate rock, phosphoric acid, feed grade phosphates, N - P product fertilizers, polyphosphates and associated chemicals.

 ATTRA is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service.

ATTRA maintains a database Sources of Organic Fertilizers and Amendments: Agronomy Resource List "This resource list is a guide to suppliers of bulk organic fertilizers and specialty soil and foliar amendments, and is geared to commercial farmers and market gardener—especially organic producers. Sources are categorized by product type, and thus it also serves as an educational overview of the different organic fertilizers, biostimulants, inoculants, rock minerals, and other amendments available. The products and suppliers listed are based on the compilers' current knowledge of the materials available in the marketplace and the specific product offerings of each company listed."

Washington Toxics Coalition protects public health and the environment by eliminating toxic pollution. WTC promotes alternatives, advocates policies, empowers communities, and educates people to create a healthy environment.

Waste-derived fertilizers was a major campaign in 1999. Now WTC focuses more on advice on home fertilizers.