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Potential Impact of Draft Proposals to Revise the EC Directive Controlling Sewage‐Sludge Applications to Land
Author(s) -
Towers W.,
Paterson E.,
Coull M. C.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-6593.2002.tb00370.x
Subject(s) - sewage sludge , environmental science , directive , biosolids , european commission , land reclamation , heavy metals , agricultural land , waste management , environmental engineering , environmental protection , sewage , land use , business , engineering , european union , environmental chemistry , chemistry , civil engineering , geography , computer science , economic policy , programming language , archaeology
The EC Directive which controls the application of sewage sludge to agricultural land, in particular, the reduction in permitted concentrations of heavy metals in sludge and sludge‐amended soils, is being reviewed by the European Commission. The implications for sludge recycling in Scotland are examined, and it is estimated that the available land bank would be reduced to about 50% of its present area. In addition, the land area which is required would have to significantly increase because of the proposed lower application rates. These scenarios cast doubt on the long‐term viability of the sludge‐recycling option in Scotland.