Experts warn that sewage sludge, which has been marketed to British farmers as a cheap fertilizer for years, is a toxic mess that threatens the long-term health of the land.
What's happening?
Each year, around 846,575 tons of sewage sludge, the solid residue remaining after wastewater treatment, is spread over more than 370,658 acres of agricultural land in England, according to the Guardian, which summarized the problem.
One water-sector regulator, speaking anonymously to the publication, called sewage sludge a "Trojan horse," saying that it contains PFAS, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, and microplastics — this toxic cocktail threatens the long-term sustainability of farmland, they added.
Meanwhile, current regulations don't test for these pollutants. In fact, spreading sludge is incentivized because it's cheaper than other disposal methods and it's cheap or free for farmers, who face rising fertilizer costs.
The Guardian added that polluting industries stand to gain when they send their liquid waste to wastewater treatment plants, as it's a cheaper option compared to incineration and other disposal methods. Some water companies are even using this practice to make money off their wastewater, according to a second insider. Both sources are concerned about the utilization of sewage facilities to dispose of hazardous waste, especially landfill leachate.
"As soon as you let industrial waste into your sewer network, your sewage becomes hazardous waste," the first source said. "Masking it as sludge and calling it fertilizer is a problem."
Why is sewage sludge concerning?
The Guardian added that some of the chemicals in the sludge, including PFAS and pharmaceuticals, are accumulating in crops and livestock, and some scientists believe they are entering the food chain.
Across the pond, the United States agriculture industry is also facing a reckoning when it comes to a long-standing practice of spreading sewage sludge on fields.
For instance, one Maine organic farmer had to shut down his operation after it was discovered that the previous landowner had fertilized the land with sewage sludge for years. He and his family are now worried about the long-term health impacts after blood tests revealed high levels of PFAS. Those "forever chemicals" have been linked to a range of health concerns, including cancer, poor immunity, and reproductive disorders.
A third-generation cattle rancher in Michigan, whose property was found to be contaminated with sludge fertilizer in 2020, had a health advisory placed on his beef. Meanwhile, a Pennsylvania community is grappling with PFAS-contaminated water that is likely linked to sewage sludge spread on nearby fields in the 1980s.
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Definitely 💯 What's being done about sewage sludge?
The Guardian noted that the spreading of sewage sludge on agricultural fields is banned in some European countries, such as Switzerland. So far, Maine is the only U.S. state to have outright banned its application, according to The New York Times. However, lawmakers in other states, such as Texas and Oklahoma, have proposed certain limitations on its use, and one town in New York is inching closer to a ban.
Advocates in England would like to see similar standards, according to the Guardian, and many say regulation should start upstream by controlling what enters the treatment plants themselves.
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