From protein waste to agriculture or the building sector: Exploring the environmental impact of new granulates on soil and water ecosystems

•New materials can be obtained from granulated waste tanning shavings.•Physical-mechanical properties of the obtained granules can be freely shaped.•Agricultural materials produced from agro-weeds are rich in calcium and sulphur.•Further detailed studies are needed to develop new materials based on agro-waste.•Obtained granules have a significant impact on plant stimulation in the soil. This article presents work to verify selected properties of granulates with added tanning shavings and to assess their ecosystem and environmental impact. Granulates were produced under the following process-aparatus conditions: disc diameter 0.55 m, disc angle 45°, speed 25 RPM, binding liquid was fed into the granulated bed by nozzle sprinkling. For comparative purposes, granulates without tanning shavings were also produced. The obtained results indicate that the selected granulates could be used as additives – especially in the construction (average force destroying granules, 20,1–96 N) and agricultural areas (stimulation/inhibition index of root length values 162–79 %). It is also worth noted that selected physico-mechanical properties of the granulates based on tanning shavings, which can be freely shaped, have a significant effect on changing the pH and plant stimulation in the soil (correlation coefficients r: from −0,71 to −0,75). Designing new products based on agricultural waste requires further, detailed research, which the authors of the work will continue in the long-term, not only in terms of their physicochemical parameters, but especially their environmental parameters.