Tobacco dust is transformed into organic fertilizer.

Tobacco dust, a residue from leaf processing, returns to the producing properties in the form of organic fertilizer. This recycling is part of the environmental sustainability initiatives conducted by companies associated with the Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco). Fertileaf is produced by the Santa Cruz do Sul Environmental Protection Foundation (Fupasc), and the product is registered with the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa) and certified as a Class A organic fertilizer.

After processing, the fertilizer returns to the industrial units, which distribute it to producers through the Integrated Tobacco Production System (SIPT), strengthening the logic of the circular economy among the producers themselves in the chain. In addition to certification from the Ministry of Agriculture, the product has the Ecocert seal, which attests to the appropriate use of the input for organic production, in accordance with Brazilian and international standards.

According to data from Fupasc, between 2014 and 2025 more than 175 tons of organic fertilizer were produced. Recycling with the Foundation began in 2014, the year in which 5.375 tons of tobacco dust were processed. Over the years, the transformation of waste into fertilizer has expanded to encompass more units and sectors of the industries, so that currently, all the dust goes to be transformed into fertilizer. In 2020, 14.692 tons of fertilizer were already being produced. And in 2025, the volume reached 22.991,80 tons, which will fertilize crops for the 2025/2026 harvest.

For production, tobacco dust receives the addition of approximately 3% ash from wood-fired boilers, a class II industrial waste generated in tobacco industries, as well as a consortium of microorganisms. The Sustainability Coordinator of Fupasc, environmental and occupational safety engineer Sebastião Bohrer, explains that the ash is used to correct the pH and that the microorganisms accelerate the fermentation of the waste. “In the treatment process, the tobacco dust and ash are moistened in a covered system, called windrows, where the consortium of microorganisms is also added to promote the degradation and stabilization of the waste,” he explains.

Sustainable circular economy

According to Fernanda Viana Bender (pictured), technical advisor at SindiTabaco, environmental and economic sustainability is part of the purpose of tobacco companies, both in their industrial operations and in all other activities throughout the production chain. “Recycling all waste produced is an ongoing action. And, in the case of fertilizer production from tobacco dust, it meets all the requirements of a sustainable circular economy,” she states. “And this has been achieved through the commitment of managers and technical teams,” she adds.

What it is and how it is produced.

Fertileaf is a Class A fertilizer resulting from 20 years of research and experimentation. The product is certified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Ecocert. Its production is carried out through a composting process in a 100% covered area, with a closed cycle, called solid-state fermentation, without generating liquid waste.