Proceedings

The sewage sludge industry has seen many changes of the past decades. The UK industry offers a unique insight into how significant changes can affect the direction an industry takes. By concentrating on some of those landmarks it is possible to understand where the industry is at today and how today’s challenges are likely to change in the coming years. Looking at some of the early years it is surprising to see how far ahead of their time some developments were. Anaerobic digestion, composting, sludge drying and incineration were all in their early stages of development at the early part of the 1900’s. Today they represent some of the leading technologies.

The impact of the European Community of the treatment and disposal of sewage sludge has been of substantial significance and today holds the key as to the direction the industry may have to take in the future. The paper highlights other influences Europe has had on UK national practice and by implication on other EU Member States.

The biosolids and biowaste industries are still coming to terms with demand for lower levels of detection of pollutants and the ability to produce meaningful analytical data at this level of sophistication. Investment in research and development into the risks posed today should lead onto solutions for tomorrow.

Finally, the Authors speculate as to the issues facing the industry over the next decade.

KEY WORDS European Community, Legislation, Research and Development, Sewage Sludge, Sludge Processes.