Heavy metals, residues of pharmaceutical drugs and plastic: just a few of the many pollutants contained in sewage sludge. Until recently most of the sludges were used as agricultural fertiliser. Nowadays more than half of it is used and combusted for energy purposes. A new UBA brochure has information on disposal practices and on the current status in sludge treatment and recycling.
The “Recommendation on sewage sludge handling” as part of the Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area entered into force in March 2017. It defines the principles for the sustainable handling of sewage sludge in the Baltic Sea region.
Two English-language technical guides are now available to countries where modernisation of facilities for waste water treatment and sewage sludge management is imminent, e.g. to comply with EU requirements.
What can be done with the sewage sludge which is generated during waste water treatment? How can valuable materials be recovered and pollutants prevented from entering the environment? The German Federal Environment Ministry (BMUB) invited a Polish delegation on a study tour to promote exchange between the two countries. The group visited exemplary sewage sludge utilisation plants in Germany.
Soil pollutants are ubiquitous. They stem from natural sources, factories, farming, transportation, and households. Deposits of such soil pollutants can seep into the groundwater or are uptaken by plants, they can pose an environmental and health risk.
Compost and sewage sludge contain valuable nutrients and humus substances that farmers traditionally use as organic fertilizer so as to reduce mineral fertilizer use. But unfortunately, compost and in particular sewage sludge, contain pollutants such as chemicals, heavy metals and pharmaceutical residues that are hazardous to the environment and human health.
Thermal waste treatment, which is one of the mainstays of waste disposal in Germany, is carried out via various types of installations, depending on the type of waste involved. At nearly all such facilities, incineration energy is recovered to generate electricity, heat and/or process steam.
How pharmaceutical residues from sludge and slurry accumulate in the soil and what effect does this have demonstrated a workshop, the UBA held on 18 and 19 June 2013.
