Proceedings

THE BIOWASTE/BIOSOLIDS SYNERGY

Paul Lowe*, Nigel Horan*, John Hudson**
*Aqua Enviro Consultancy Services ** Independent Consultant

(free)

The biosolids industry can be regarded as a mature industry. The techniques employed have been around for many years, especially the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. On the other hand the biowaste industry can be regarded as being in its infancy. That is not to say biowaste technology has not been around for some time but the technology has had to compete with low cost landfill and as a result landfill has been the ultimate resting place for such wastes.

Both industries are regulation driven. The treatment and disposal of sewage sludge is highly regulated and the intensity of the regulation is increasing. For instance the disposal of sludge to agricultural land came under the 86/278/EEC almost 30 years ago. This was accompanied by similar regulations in the US as the 503 rule was implemented. Today Europe awaits a revision of the prime legislation and National Governments are equally concerned to introduce new regulations to protect human and animal health and preserve the fragile structure of soil.

The drive towards effective resource recovery is resulting in a change in the biowaste industry. Landfill for organic wastes is becoming more restrictive. This means alternative solutions have to be found. Of course composting of MSW has a long history but not always a successful history. Incineration of MSW equally has seen a rise and fall in its fortunes. But as attentions turns towards regulating food waste, agricultural wastes as well as MSW so the technology has to respond. Yet what is regarded as new to the waste market has reached an advanced development phase in the biowaste market. This paper discussed some of the implications for both industries.

KEY WORDS Biosolids, Biowaste, Anaerobic Digestion, MSW, Food Waste, Process Technology.

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